Tuesday, November 07, 2017

Freedom In the City.

Freedom In the City

The lights from the glow of the city streets
Beckoned me from my window.
I was a Scottish woman, driven to America by hate
And greed, and this was the first time I felt a little
Thrill of excitement at being on my own.
I had just arrived to Columbus, Ohio, the night before
From Scotland-having nothing with me but a garbage
Bag full of old clothes and food I needed to take
With me.
I wasn’t looking for anything but freedom, which was
Rare in those days, rare in the way that women weren’t
Really supposed to have any freedom, that my parents
Just wanted me to marry someone I wasn’t really in love
With, an older man with a degree in Engineering and who
Slept too much and drank too much and wanted me to cook
And clean.
I didn’t want to live a life like that.  I wanted to live a life
Making my own decisions and doing my own thing, marrying
Who I wanted and taking any job I please-anything but a
Homemaker, I thought, as was the style at the time for young
Women exactly like me.
Most women weren’t like me at all, I was a red head out of so many
Brown heads, a duck in a meadow full of swans.
I even walked like a duck, but I didn’t talk like a duck, I had an
Extensive vocabulary that my mother didn’t much like-she was brought
Up to be a homemaker and not focus on schooling, which was
What I was doing.
I moved to get away from her, to be able to think and do as I please,
And to find my own light in a world full of darkness.
The city lights beckoned me and I jumped out of the window of my
Apartment and climbed down the ladder, and wandered about
The city until I found a place to belong to.  Which is really what

We’re all trying to do, isn’t it?  

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