RAGE

by Kay White Drew


Patriarchy to woman:
Thy rage is a sin.
Thou shalt not be angry, for
thou shalt be called shrill,
unladylike, a harridan.
Thou shalt be scorned, despised,
a prophetess in her own country.

Woman to patriarchy:
My rage is no sin, but
the error I embrace.
My rage is the white-hot flame
that keeps me alive
when you try to grind me
under the heel of your boot.
My rage is my fire.
It will burn you to the ground.


* * * * *

Kay White Drew, a.k.a. Katherine White, M.D., is a retired neonatal physician and lifelong writer. Her essays and poems appear in several anthologies and online journals, including Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, and the Coin Operated Press zine, Depression Walks. Things that keep her sane in these trying times: writing, meditation, conversations with the people she loves, and spending time outdoors. She lives in Rockville, MD, with her husband.