She has traveled to six different continents.
Walked inside the empty pyramids of Giza
Marveled at the Sphinx
And the Coliseum in Rome.
Toured Vatican City and St. Peter’s Basilica,
Hiked up mountainous cliffs
to the monasteries in Meteora.
Sailed down the Rhine
Waved at The Lorelei
Crossed the St. Charles Bridge in Prague.
Motorcycled the Southern rim of the Grand Canyon
And witnessed the beauty of the fall colors.
She climbed up the steep steps
of the Great Wall of China
and posed for a picture
In front of Cristo Redentor in Rio.
She survived hordes of hungry flies
To stay on Fantasy Island,
Swim in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
She inhaled the markets of Casablanca
Sampled their wares, skirting old men
Smoking stale cigarettes, drinking strong coffee
Holding fast to ancient beliefs
No longer relevant to anyone but them.
Ignorant men
Trapped inside decaying walls
Stinking of urine and fish.
Places where women are traded and bred as cattle.
And the smart ones get locked away
Inside cliff towers, never to be seen or heard from again.
She knows that she is lucky
That the insult is ongoing
Confirmed by the movies of women being stoned
By spineless men clinging to indifference and fear
Innocent, courageous women who dare to upset the status quo.
Naive women and daughters
Discarded by husbands
By fathers who would taunt their children to
Eke out a living from a stone field.
Women and girls who summon the courage
To work for a
Widower’s paltry coins
And they are later accused of sleeping with their employer.
She witnessed the degradation and the intolerance
Touched the stain that is mankind. Yet still she dares to hope.
Corney Press 