Crimson Moxie – A Protest Poetry Reading
Image by oskar holm from Unsplash
Credits: Written, directed, and edited by Rita Mock-Pike. Performed by Sue Cook.
We’re told to hide away,
don’t discuss,
never show,
never acknowledge.
Except alone,
in hidden corridors,
secret passageways
where only “our kind” might tread.
Pay more to hide yourself.
“Buy in bulk
your color guards
and give us those pink taxes.”
“And celebrate!
You are valuable now.”
Those birthing hips put to use
when they’re done with us.
Instead, I buy blue,
save a buck,
or run free.
No babies on the horizon —
my choice, my call. My life.
My crimson guest
gives moxie —
guts you’ll never have
as you charge me for being alive
and unwilling to relent.
And I study theology,
I teach, I preach, I pray,
prepare for ministry,
own a business,
vote each election.
Your hollow voice is loud.
My quiet voice is louder.
My crimson moxie
is stronger than your colorless cries
for babies, homemaking, and nothing more
from this crimson-filled body.
Find more motivating, encouraging, and thought-provoking works at the MockingOwl Roost.
- Divergent Memory of a Burning Heap – Micro Essay
- Smiles – Protest Poetry
- Thank You God, I’m Leaving Here – Personal Essay
- Unconventional Choices – Micro Essay
- Adjectives Aren’t Everything – an Essay
- Pearls of Dissent – Protest Poetry
- 10 of the Best Novels by Women Authors – Book Roundup
- “Dear Pastor Who Blamed Me for Being Abused” – Things I Wish I Had Said
- When I Became a Modern Woman – Poetry
- All the Colors – Special Issue of the MockingOwl Roost
- Nothing More Than a Lesson – Poetry Reading
- What is a Woman? – International Women’s Day Poem
Sue Cook lives in Freeport, Illinois with her husband Randy and two dogs. Her passions include assistance dogs, rescue dogs, music, acting, theater, poetry, and Doctor Who. She’s been in both film and theater and is a regular cast member of the podcast Doctor Who’s Line is it….Anyway? Sue is an advocate for the use of Service Dogs to assist their disabled handlers to maintain their independence. Quigley’s Quest, her first children’s book, addresses how a dog becomes a Service Dog.
Editor-in-Chief of The MockingOwl Roost, Rita Mock-Pike is the granddaughter of aviatrix, Jerrie Mock, first woman to pilot an airplane solo around the world. Rita has found inspiration from her grandmother’s life and flight and pursued many of her own dreams in theatre, podcasting, novel writing, and cooking up delicious food from around the world. She now writes on food, travel, pets, faith, and the arts. She’s happily married to Matt, and faithfully serves the very fluffy kitten queen, Lady Stardust.
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