THOSE TEARS -- Chrystos

[mercifulserpent]

THOSE TEARS -- Chrystos

of a white woman who came to the group for Women of Color
only
her grief cut us into guilt while we clutched the straw
of this tiny square inch we have which we need
so desperately when we need so much more
We talked her into leaving
which took 10 minutes of our precious 60
Those legion white Lesbians whose feelings are hurt
because we have a Lesbians of Color Potluck
once a month for 2 hours
without them
Those tears of the straight woman
because we kicked out her boyfriend at the Lesbians only
poetry reading where no microphone was provided
& the room was much too small for all of us
shouting that we were imperialists
though I had spent 8 minutes trying to explain
to her that an oppressed people
cannot oppress their oppressor
She ignored me
charged into the room weeping & storming
taking up 9 minutes of our precious tiny square inch
Ah those tears
which could be jails, graves, rapists, thieves, thugs
those tears which are so puffed up with inappropriate grief
Those women who are used to having their tears work
rage at us
when they don't
We are not real Feminists they say
We do not love women
I yell back with a wet face
_Where are our jobs? Our apartments?_
_Our voices in parliament or congress?_
_Where is our safety from beatings, from murder?_
_You cannot even respect us to allow us_
_60 uninterrupted minutes for ourselves_

Your tears are chains
Feminism is the right of each woman
to claim her own life her own time
her own interrupted 60 hours
60 days
60 years
No matter how sensitive you are
if you are white
you are
No matter how sensitive you are
if you are a man
you are
We who are not allowed to speak have the right
to define our terms our turf
These facts are not debatable
Give us our inch
& we'll hand you a hanky

for MAV & DENISE, who guarded the door after the incident at the Lesbian
reading & thus, didn't get to hear the poetry

Her biography and criticism.

Comments

[cyclophile.livejournal.com]

You know... all the political stuff aside, I don't get it.. If you are told that you are not welcome, why would you want to stay? Sometimes particular groups of people want to get together with "thier own" folks to the exclusion of outsiders..

There's nothing wrong with it, we all need to do it from time to time.. Hell, that is what family reunions are! It is not nec. racist or sexist or whatever... if you are a private, non-government-funded group then you can make up whatever rules you want!

It is just like the old thing of the guys going to the men's club, the gals having 'girls night out' ...it is a healthy thing.

....tho now, it is considered wrong to have a Men's club while it is perfectly fine to exclude men from a women's club ...little reverse-sexism there. You don't fix the scale by tipping it over..

...but anyways...

.... Dude, I am in total agreement with you... those people should have left well enough alone when y'all told them to leave. Whatever y'all were doing was none of thier concern.

...jeez... people.

[polymexina.livejournal.com]

the poem isn't original to me. ;)

[cyclophile.livejournal.com]

Eh, My feeling's still the same... tho I did get the impression you were writting about something that recently happened.


btw, you avatar reminds me... I have YET to see the animated series!!! ('course I hardly ever watch the tv)