BREAKTHROUGH
~ a villanelle~
Our voices spoke out, filled with dread.
We marched up the streets side by side;
When will women be heard? we said.
To us, for years, our dreams seemed dead,
Remained unchanged, and so we cried.
Our voices spoke out, filled with dread.
We marched to see our message spread;
Our heads held high with every stride.
When will women be heard? we said.
Most of the city could hear our tread:
No longer should grievance abide,
Our voices spoke out, filled with dread.
For much too long, I too have bled,
Felt injustice, my freedom denied:
When will women be heard? we said,
That march pushed past old lives we led.
This day we stand serene with pride:
Our voices spoke out, filled with dread.
When will women be heard? we said.
About the author: Anjali Pursai was accepted into the prestigious workshop, Poetry Power, in the San Francisco Bay Area, taught by an award winning poet. Since four years ago, she has earned many publications, such as in the Chautauqua Literary Magazine in New York, and national awards, such as from the National League of American Pen Women and the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards, Western Division. She has also received invitations to read her work at a number of well-known locations, such as the Koret Auditorium at the San Francisco Library. She grows more and more enthusiastic about the art of poetry, both writing and presenting it.