Poem of the week : Reflections

Reflections

Have ye ony comprehension
Ae whit lassies have tae face?
Fechtin tooth an nail
Tae gain respect in every space.

It’s no aboot the stuff I say,
Or whit A try tae write,
It’s the way A look while daein it –
Have ye ever heard such shite?

A long fur days when A can talk
Wae makeup oan ma puss,
An no hae men inquire
Why A’ve gone tae sic a fuss.

Or tell me how A turn them on ,
Or whit they’d like tae dae,
Or redirect the dialogue
Tae whit they want tae say.

Don’t get me wrong – A love the lads,
But feel that A should mention:
The fact A’m here tae educate,
No jist fur male attention.

An A’m telt every day
Tae keep ma heid doon and ignore,
But fur every “gaun yersel hen”
There’s a “vapid ugly whore”.

So A call oot the bastards
Who make ma work a game:
Haud a mirror tae misogyny
And watch it cringe in shame.

And tae the men who fear the women
They cannot control,
Know while you may break a heart
Ye cannae break a soul.

Cos A’m thinkin o quines scrievin
In their mither’s mither tongue,
An lassies writin poetry –
The old yins and the young.

Tae the wee girls, hear me say this
In ma Mammy’s native speech:
Know that ye can advocate,
Inspire, craft an teach.

Know yer words hae power
Beyond the way ye look.
Take the bullshit that life throws yer way
And fill a bloody book.

Dinnae listen tae they fuds
Keep daein whit ye’re dain
Makeup a mind wae makeup oan
Fur nae mind but yer ain

 

Len Pennie is a Scottish poet and Scots language and mental health advocate. She recently won the Scots Performer of the Year Award at the Scots Language Awards.

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