Monthly Archives: March 2023

Sestina – Mother and Child

She sits and looks at her child, looks with love at her child, disabled. The Mother, single, looks through laughter, then through tears. She, the one who cares. She, the one who fears. Why the fears? Because she, alone, looks … Continue reading

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Ordinary

You pass a woman in the street, not a second glance given, so ordinary, nothing special, But, she is a nurse, saves lives, comforts the dying. She is phenomenal. Look at her over there, dressed smartly, but no different to … Continue reading

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Angels

“You’re an angle,” the drunken man said at 3.30am, in A&E. “An angle?” the nurse replied. “You’re an angel, an angel” he slurred “Don’t suppose angels have to use food banks,” she muttered. “I clapped for you,” he said “Well … Continue reading

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Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

The phenomenal woman I highlight here is Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and I also give a nod to the phenomenal feminists of the 1970’s who helped preserve Elizabeth’s legacy. Elizabeth Garrett was born in 1836 in Whitechapel. When she was 5, … Continue reading

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She Little but she Tallawa

She Little But She Tallawa is a poem about an Eighteenth century Jamaican heroine, Nanny, small and wiry. ‘Tallawa’ means strong. She was trafficked from Ghana to Jamaica to become a slave. But once there, fought her way free and … Continue reading

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Bertha (Antoinette Cosway) The Woman in the Attic

Bertha (Antoinette Cosway) The Woman in the Attic (inspired by Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea) My real name Antoinette Cosway New husband Rochester Brands me Bertha Henceforth My land, house, body mind (what little remains) All his I know who … Continue reading

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Afghan

Dear Sir I request, respectfully, that you listen to me. I am young I am female I am Afghan Now I realise I do not count because I was born in Afghanistan. You said we could do it, we could … Continue reading

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Refuge

1971, England. Marriage is the highpoint of a woman’s life and a man’s home is his castle. But for some the front door doesn’t keep danger out. It keeps it in. Half a century ago a battering on the street … Continue reading

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Universal Mother

Tonight, she weeps in sorrow for all her lost dead boys; all those who blindly follow and believe their leader’s lies. She’s the universal mother and she’s black or white or brown; but her sorrow knows no colour when she … Continue reading

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Greta

Young, fresh-faced and Swedish, she is the undisputed heavy-weight in the fight for the soul of this planet. A pint-sized activist, she began her giant-sized journey into the realm of green politics at the age of fifteen and has never … Continue reading

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