*****

Recorded Reading (1:29): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hupyc9dbnbhz69goncczx/The-Woman-s-Fault.mp3?rlkey=afornn1jsoihjw099a2bwolki&dl=0

*****

The Woman’s Fault

She should have knuckled under
Should have learned to bend the back
Decried no lie nor insult
No indignity or lack

She should have done whatever
She found necessary
Material gain to maintain ~
Bit down on every query

Past the point of comfort
Or any true meant welcome of
Past the point of justice
Past the point which even love,

While understanding motivation
All too perfectly,
Can with any moral comfort
In its presence be

When assured, assured again
Not once or twice but thrice,
It’s sorry her companions are
Accommodate her least device,

Instead of dragging every subject
Through the room and down the hall
And thenceforward out to pasture,
Making no lasting impress at all

In that dim mind, she should have known
Which side her bread was buttered on ~
When to cover up the truth,
Whom to fawn upon

Just like any fascist line
Just like any Inquisition
Like any base misogynist
Geek totalitarian

Throughout what we call patriarchal
“Human history”
(Which much better deserves the name
Of “planetwide disaster” be) ~

So long as she’s not bringing you
Your preference of salt,
Dressed in your most approved attire ~
It was the woman’s fault

*****

Until removal of the stalker/targeter/vandal/arsonist following her allows her to approach any landlord ~ even for a private parking space ~ and to begin once again to create professional connections and to rebuild her life, this poet presently lives homeless and at a fraction of her nation’s poverty level ~ still working seven days a week to contribute to her society, however.

Arts patrons may visit http://www.UgiftABLE.com , using code #72D-31S, or choose to send a personal check to the poet’s ABLE account. It takes about two weeks for the poet to be notified of your patronage.

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