Un Deux Trois

329 1st Avenue
March 8, 1996

Where are the women poets? - I asked. There are none - was the answer I received from the avant-garde publisher who had given me a treasure-trove of works by men poets.¹

International Women's Day,
which I celebrate more than once a year
by reading poetry written by women
with decided political statements.

As I read this Greek anthology of women poets
blood rushes to my face as I try to imagine myself
as one of the women Rita Boumi-Pappas discusses,
who were summarily courtmartialed and executed
when they refused to sign a,
declaration of repentance and good behavior².

In her introduction, Rita Boumi-Pappas writes -
These executed girls are my daughters, your daughters,
the daughters of all real people.
They fell, not only for political freedom, but for personal freedom,
for the rights as individuals to choose. They did not die to be silent.³

In fact, they sit in front of me,
wine flows from wounds where there should be blood.
They intently watch each move of my pen
hoping the found someone who would've helped.

¹Greek Women Poets, translated by Eleni Fourtouni., Thelphini Press, 1978, pg ix.
²Greek Women Poets, page 15.
³Greek Women Poets, page 15.