Lady Liberty

Being a strong woman        
  isn't always easy;          
but, it's necessary to survive          
  an onslaught of baseless          
  abuse and accusations          
     so often thrown our way          
         
We've been owned, sold  
   controlled far too long          
by our male counterparts          
   their dominating fists          
   and sexual advances          
     often ignored by society          
         
We've been beaten, disgraced      
   paraded through streets          
until losing consciouness          
   in filthy alleyways and jails          
   to put us in our place          
         
Stomped, spat on, shunned          
  harrased in a man's world          
until deemed as unfit mothers          
  our homes and children          
  stripped from our arms       
    
We've come so far          
   yet still, women and girls suffer    
for the right to an education           
   raped, doused with acid
   even murdered          
         
It's up to each woman          
   to illuminate another      
guide them out of the dark  
   regardless of race or color          
   age, class, or culture          
   
When we fail to protect          
   a vulnerable sister          
out of fear of reprisal           
   we haven't just failed them          
   we've also failed ourselves          
         
Damn whatever outcome          
   regardless of what we pay          
be a shelter and a friend         
   a Lady Liberty with her torch          
   for those yearning to breathe free          
       
Mean it, even unto death          
  despite what others perceive    
~