Ode To X Poem by Rajeeyah Hasan

We crossed seas for promises of lavished lives landing on rocks of strange land, bringing traditions with pieces of heart from home.
We shared dreams of idyllic liberties often not inclusive of us.
From the hulls of ships chained that yanked and raped our innocence, to the mothers and daughters of the resistance breaking free in the nights heading northward.
We gathered among whisper behind shadows of domesticity conforming to roles, most not of our choosing.
Sitting in kitchens smelling of dried cake batter and roasted meats.
Speaking forbidden words, some loud, some muted.
Words of journeys not taken, of quiet rebellions fought in our beds.
We lifted our skirts responding to a lover's whisper as we reached to unbutton her blouse.
Despite judgement, pushed into dark corners and invisible spaces.
Traded aprons for guns, plows and covered wagons heading west, to face the wild and unknown.
Riding bare back roping wild hogs, and babies strapped to our backs hoeing fields of farm lands.
Socialites clothed in pristine silken dress dancing rhythmically on shiny floors, moved into marches through hulling halls lifting voices for the right to cast the ballot.
We carried a nation in times of war, raised our rifles against enemies and kicked open doors of boardrooms and chambers as heads of state.
We blew breath into the essence of entrepreneurship as we turned the keys on doors to our dress shops, parlors, speakeasies, locker rooms and eateries.
We walk halls in schools with guards entrusted with people who did not want us there, yet learned to propel mankind into space, time and the unknown.
Be not fooled by our genteel demeanor, we have the heart of a warrior and the voice of your conscious.
We are intrinsically woven in the tapestry of time; we are the wombs of minds….woman.