Women hold significant roles in life. Women are wives who tend to their husbands, and mothers with children that look up to them for love and understanding. Women do the cooking, the cleaning, the feeding, the bathing, and most importantly women take care of all their family needs. Women are a necessity in life. In the past, women were looked down upon as less and never had equal rights to men. Women’s Rights by Annie Louisa Walker, Women’s Suffrage by William Topaz McGonagall, and Woman Work by Maya Angelou are three poems which signifies what women went through, and what they still go through today.
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In the poem Women’s Rights, it is comprehensible right from the first sentence that women wanted to be treated equal and they wanted their voices to be heard. When Annie Louisa Walker says, “We claim to dwell, in quiet and seclusion, beneath the household roof, from the great world’s harsh strife, and jarring voices, to stand aloof”, she is using the house as a symbol for shelter from the world’s cold and unequal treatment to Women. The house is shelter to women because that’s where they took care of their family and their children, the house is shelter from the outside world. In another part of her poem she says “So let us, unobtrusive and unnoticed, but happy none the less, be privileged to fill the air around us with happiness”, she is saying that even though women go unnoticed and are looked down upon they are happy and honored to fill others with happiness. In this poem it showed that women, although treated unequal, had all the reasons to keep their happiness.
The poem Women’s Suffrage is about how women were treated unfairly and rip away of their rights and freedom. This poem is written not by a woman, but from a man’s point of view. So you can see that not only women felt they were being treated unfairly, men also felt this way which says a lot. This poem is also written in Rhyme scheme. William says “when they pay the same taxes as you and me, I consider they ought to have the same liberty, and I consider if they are not allowed the same liberty, from taxation everyone of them should be set free; and if they are not, it is really unfair, and an act of injustice I most solemnly declare”, he is showing just how cruel and unfair women were treated. They paid the same taxes as men, but received different treatment. He goes on to say, “Women, farmers, have no protection as the law now stands; and many of them have lost their property and lands, and have been turned out of their beautiful farms, by the unjust laws of the land and the sheriffs’ alarms”. This shows how their land and farms were unrightfully ripped away from them just because they were women. The ending of the poem is really strong and he shares his support and hopes for the women in saying “And do not rest day nor night – because your demands are only right, in the eyes of reasonable men, and God’s eyesight; And Heaven, I’m sure will defend the right. Therefore go on brave women! And never fear, although your case may seem dark and drear, and put your trust in God, for He is strong; and ye will gain the parliamentary Franchise before very long.”
Woman Work is a poem about the duties women tend to at home and also how they still have their jobs to go to. This poem is also written with a rhyme scheme. Maya writes, “I’ve got the children to tend, the clothes to mend, the floor to mop, the food to shop, then the chicken to fry, the baby to dry…I gotta clean up this hut, then see about the sick, and the cotton to pick.” This shows just how much responsibility the women held in their family, they had to do everything for everyone and still manage to go out and do labor to earn low wages. A woman’s work is never done, there day never over. In the ending of the poem, Maya writes, “Fall gently, snowflakes, cover me with white cold icy kisses and let me rest tonight, sun, rain, curving sky, mountain, oceans, leaf and stone, star shine, moon glow, you’re all that I can call my own.” This last part of the poem shows that although the woman tends to all these duties at home and still goes on to work. The sun, rain, sky, mountains, oceans, leaf and stone, stars and moon were symbols of her freedom and what she could call her own, because those things are free. This shows me that women felt like they had nothing and had really felt like slaves. They had to do everything, and yet didn’t have any power or anything to call their own.
What is a Woman
I am beautiful and strong
I wonder what my future beholds
I hear rain drops on my window sill
I see hope for tomorrow
I want what I can call my own
I am loving and positive
I pretend that I am a butterfly, flying so free
I feel the sweat dripping down my face as I cook and clean
I touch my baby’s back as he sleeps peacefully
I worry that one day I will not be free
I cry when worrying about the future
I am understanding and compassionate
I understand not everything in this world is fair nor good
I say God will never give you something you couldn’t handle
I dream of a blossoming future
I try to do my best for everyone in my family as well as myself
I hope for a long fulfilled life
I am a Woman, beautiful and alive.
My poem entitled What is a Woman is basically about what a woman is and the kinds of things she may think about such as having a good future and not having to worry about so many things. In this poem and I portrayed myself and all the things I am made of. I am a woman who does everything I can for my family and me. I cook, clean, wash, take care of my Son, tend to all of his needs, I take care of my boyfriend and all of his needs, I also help my mom with everything she needs done. Women are really hard working people and have a lot to be appreciated for. Women are compassionate and understanding when it comes to family and taking care. Women do all these things and sometimes never even catch a break, days are never ending, and there is always something for a woman to do. I used a butterfly as a symbol for freedom and innocence and being carefree, because sometimes I wish I could fly away and be carefree and not have any worries.
Women, keep holding on!
Hold On when you feel like giving up
Hold on to your hopes, dreams, and womanhood
Even if the odds are against you
Hold on to your strength, worth and inspirations
Even if people are telling you it’s impossible
Hold on to your independence and optimism
Even if you’ve lost all hope of progressing
Hold on to everything you believe in
Even if it is easier to let go
Keep holding on!
By Angelia Salmon
My second poem entitled Women, keep holding on! is about keeping women motivated in everything they believe in, basically don’t stop believing even when everything seems like it isn’t possible. Since way back women were told they couldn’t do this, or couldn’t do that, they were made to believe that there sole purpose is to serve others and be a housewife or trophy wife. Women were told to ‘sit and look pretty’, nothing more or nothing less. Women are worth more and much more than what they were made out to be. Just because women are not men, they are treated as less than? It just doesn’t make any sense to me. It’s sad to see that it took so long for women to be treated as equal to men. In the past, I could only imagine what it must have been like for women.
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Presently, I am fortunate to be living this great life and I will live my life gratefully knowing that I have much more opportunity, chances, and rights than women ever did in the past. I believed that women suffered knowing that equality probably wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon in their time, and it’s sad knowing how long it took for women to be looked at as equal, instead of housewives, eye candy, trophy wives, salves. I will always remember what women in the past didn’t have, and use it as a reminder of how lucky I really am to be living with rights and freedom.
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