Cat Calling

 Your call

For you was two secs

For me it was upward hackles

Made me want to get better at self defence 

Wish I wasn't wearing yoga pants 

Second call made me feel more angry that I felt this way

I wanted to enjoy my walk

To feel that relaxation. 

But not today.

That was not asked for. 

Can't I just feel safe in my neigbourhood?

As long as your attitude remains

I can't walk this way

Yoga pants are not so you stare at me.

I wore them to feel comfortable on my walk.

Not so you could make me feel unsafe and insecure. 

The only person allowed to comment on how nice the pants make my bum look is lying in the bed next to me each night. 

Through trust, affection and respect of me as a full person. 

This is the sort of man I married. 

Unless you change your attitude towards women,  your not going to know the many privileges of marriage. 

If you are, than I'm sorry for your wife.

Do better. 

I'm not a dog to be whistled at.

Nor a paining being admired.

I'm a human being who should get to relax walking in her yoga pants at 5:30 pm and any other time of night. 

It's not as funny as you think.

Cat calling instills fear, is an act of verbal aggression, and isn't at all friendly or a complement.

Stop.

Words Have Impact

 

I heard a word thrown out upon the wind.

‘Spaz’. I took a breath.

Thinking… there’s that word.

After all the strives we’re made…

Still… this man talking to his partner pushing a stroller…

uses this expression… flipping it out into the world.

Using it to complain about a mistake that was made.

 

Why?

 

Perhaps he does not know what it means.

As a person who is part of the disabled community…

I do.

Trauma, advocacy, hospital visits, fighting for acceptance, and being so very, very tired.

And that is just one word.

There are so many other triggering words.

Be careful what you say.

Listen and be open to change.

As ‘Too Peas in a Podcast’ say:

‘Know better, do better’.

 

 

 

Little Things

Sometimes on the grey days and the black days,
we are prone to focus on the darkness.
But it is far better to look at the shoots and the stars.
Those little stars in the bleak blackness.

A call from a friend.
A walk with the dog.
A good book that makes you laugh.

All of these are can lift the weight off you.
Each little thing helps.
They don't have to be complex.

A hug rather than a worried look.
A small task completed for you.
A meal made for you.

Just little things, but they make life worth continuing.
Every little sensation.
A taste. A touch. A feel. A smell.

Thank You God for all the little things.
For even when there is darkness all around...
I will choose to fix my eyes upon the little things.
Starting with a breath and ending with a poem.