Poetry by linda m. crate ♣ Art by Keith Landrum
you can take the bitterness, i’ll take the freedom
i’m the girl with
whimsy, nature, and dreams
sewn into her mind and
heart
the kind-of girl whose wild and you
can’t cage,
but you tried to tame me
it’s true;
always i was too something for you
couldn’t wait for me to lose
my scars—
they say you don’t love her until you let her go
i suppose you’d know
because you broke the gilded cage;
at first i cried
we’ll call it stockholme syndrome,
but i realized that in freeing yourself you truly
were freeing me—
cracked through the glass of who i once was
rose from the ashes
burning a brighter flame than i ever had before
not so rabbit hearted anymore
i’ve become the warrior
princess
wearing her battle scars with pride—
i am artemis crossed with
persephone
i prefer peace but i can be a war
can paint you in the same
pomegranates you
gave me
because you can keep the bitterness, i’ll take the freedom.
refuse to satisfy your need
you couldn’t restrain
me with you pain, your sadness,
or your rage;
couldn’t get me to conform
to your standards
of beauty
i once felt flawed and ugly
because of your betrayal
i know now
that you’re the ugly one—
you chained me
to yearning and longing and want
as you prowled the woods
looking for your next little red riding hood,
and i know you thought i wasn’t a threat
but you didn’t know this little
red carries a battle ax
i am a dwarf carrying all the flaming red stars
of rage and fury;
you want to see artemis in her prime
come at me again
the crows will feast on your innards,
wolf,
because i refuse to be chained to your need.
Linda M. Crate is a Pennsylvanian native born in Pittsburgh yet raised in the rural town of Conneautville. Her poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. Recently her two chapbooks A Mermaid Crashing Into Dawn (Fowlpox Press – June 2013) and Less Than A Man (The Camel Saloon – January 2014) were published. Her fantasy novel Blood & Magic was published in March 2015. The second novel of this series Dragons & Magic was published in October 2015. Her poetry collection Sing Your Own Song is forthcoming through Barometric Pressures Series.
What are the author’s thoughts on male possessiveness and his preoccupation with beauty? Why are men like that, and are all men like that? Why do women all too often submit or accept an inferior position, and allow emotional and physical abuse? Can women have possessive traits and high expectations the same way men do?
I think it’s good to be cherished and valued, but I do think that there are certain lines one should not cross. When one asks another to move across the country for them for example and cut off ties with their family and friends for their own benefit then I think there are some underlying issues there. This, of course, is just one example of an unhealthy relationship. Of course, not all men are like that and neither are all women. Some are good, some are bad, and some are just shades of gray. I think women, in general, are usually more accepting and forgiving of flaws as we perceive that we are flawed beings. We often put up with things we don’t deserve because of what we feel, but sometimes it’s important to remind ourselves of what we do deserve because some people aren’t worth our time or effort. Of course, women can have possessive traits and high expectations. It is not fair to demonize one gender as all humans can fail in one way or another and it’s all too easy to do in relationships especially when one party loves another more than the other one does. It’s what makes communication and boundaries both so very necessary.
Thanks for your thoughts.