Poems

"Must I Be a Woman Now"
The following poems were inspired by Ana Castillo's poem "El Ser Mujer" ("Being a Woman"), from her book "My Father Was a Toltec." The speaker is a woman lying awake at night, praying to her absent mother for guidance in a world where she fears she will not be as strong as her mother was. In some of our book groups for high school girls, we discussed mothers and mother figures, and the special kind of guidance they can give us. We then asked participants to write a poem addressed to the strongest female figure in their life, confronting their fears about becoming a woman in today's world.

Must I Be a Woman Now?
Independent,
alone, on my own —
Does that make me a woman now?
If not, teach me how.

I see a strong woman
in you, a warrior overcoming the odds.
You keep me sane, and close to god.
I want to be like you, but not exactly.
I want to be like you, but still be me.
Paying my own bills,
taking the hand life deals —
Does that make me a woman now?
If not, teach me how.

Teach me to stand tall, and
stare fear in the face,
to know that this world is not my jury,
so I don't have to plead my case.
Teach me to be proud, regal like you.
Teach me the right things to do.
Sharing my body and home with a man,
trying to make things as right as I can,
but still wanting you to hold my hand —
Does that make me a woman now?
If not, teach me how.

You are a woman, a real woman.
I admire your strength, and
everything you do and have done.
You are everything I wish
to one day become,
and I'll always ask you
Am I woman now?
and if you say no, then please
teach me how.

  — Nicole Dunbar, Age 18

Must I Be A Woman Now?
Must I go through the same path
that my female ancestors went
through, or may I try to change
what they were afraid of?
I still don’t know, but I wish
that as I walk, a heavenly
spotlight from where they are
could guide and help me understand
the things that made them weak.
I am afraid of growing up and
leaving my mother’s arms, but as
life continues, I hope that I
become stronger and able to
conquer my dreams, the same ones
that I dreamt in those pink
cubicles that made me happy
in my childhood years.
Must I be a woman now
that I’m seventeen, or could
I preserve the little girl, the one you
advised and protected when she
felt she was trapped and thrown
in the dark in those faraway
years?

  — Irais Rodriguez, Age 17

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