Courage

 In the garden of modern feminism, blooms vary -  

Each petal a doctrine, each stem a story. 

Among the vibrant throngs of sisterly lore, 

There thrives a weed, stubborn at the core. 

Not the blossom of equality for which we yearn, 

But a divisive root, around which we must learn to turn.

For in the fertile soil of our collective fight, 

Grows a shadow that mars our garden’s light. 

The TERF, they call it, with a sneer and a jeer, 

Claims feminism’s name, yet sows the seeds of fear. 

A term for those who would gatekeep gender’s gate, 

Whose feminism excludes, aiming to separate.

Yet, true feminism — a welcoming embrace, 

Acknowledges all women, regardless of their base. 

For the battles we face are intertwined, interlaced, 

Our fates stitched together, not to be erased 

By the narrowing views of who counts as a ‘she’, 

Or who fits in the mold of womanly decree.

 

Courage with pen both sharp and deft, 

Would not let such divisions go unchecked. 

She’d write of the table, wide and long, 

Where every woman finds a seat, belongs. 

Her verses would challenge, caress, and confirm 

That in the quest for equality, there’s much to affirm.

Sisters, she’d pen, in lines both clear and bright, 

Our feminism must champion every woman’s plight. 

Not to splinter on the rocks of who’s more ‘right’, 

But to unite in our shared struggle, our shared fight. 

For the TERF’s exclusionary creed, 

Serves not the feminist garden we seek to seed.

Let us weed out hate, plant love instead, 

And in the richness of diversity, find our stead. 

For the tapestry of womanhood is vast and wide, 

Inclusive of all who identify by her side. 

So, may our feminism, like courage's verse, 

Embrace every woman, for better or worse.

And in this poem, this plea, this cry, 

Lies a truth that cannot, must not die: 

That feminism, in its truest, deepest heart, 

Is about lifting every woman, right from the start. 

Not in excluding, but in understanding and love, 

We find the strength to rise, together, above.

So let us, as feminists, take the higher road, 

Leaving behind the TERF’s bitter abode. 

For in the garden of equality, there is room for all, 

To stand together, united, strong and tall. 

Our differences, our power — not our curse, 

Together weaving a better universe.

- Aspen Greenwood