No Fanatic

No fanatic, that doesn’t appeal
No religious, political zeal
But I strongly opine
When occasions define
It important to say what I feel
I’ve a feminist core through and through
Believe women are equal, that’s true
So when cultural norms
Hold that feminine forms
Count far less in the greater world view
I must stand on my soap box and shout
At those men who keep shutting us out
Women’s right to be heard
Should not be so absurd
An idea as to raise any doubt
That as women and men share this land
Not one sex has the right to demand
Harmful views that negate
Or restrict someone’s fate
Become law, keep imbalance in hand
Yet the world spins, men still tend to rule
Over women – they’re nobody’s fool
Weaker sex kept in place
So weak men can keep face
Think they’re clever for being so cruel
Will things ever change? I hope they can
Become better for woman and man
Opportunities rise
As male stranglehold dies
True equality, equally planned…

Fandango’s One Word Challenge: Fanatic

PS It seems ridiculous to feel the need to add a disclaimer to my little lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek ditty for today’s prompt from Fandango – but this is simply my opinion, posted on my blog. I’m not a man-hater, nor do I believe that all men are inherently entitled, arrogant bullies, although it’s true that many are. But the fact remains that women’s rights, including those that have already been fought for and hard-won by generations of activists over decades, are now being eroded the world over – not only in countries where girls are denied an education and women denied a career, but also in countries where women are denied rights over their own bodies.

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The Full Picture

Fresh dewy fields, green and bucolic
Where new-born spring lambs sweetly frolic
Yet this pastoral view
Ends with tasty lamb stew
Or a roast dinner, how melancholic…

NB I was born into and grew up in a rural community where planned life and planned death are simply part of the natural cycle of farming animals for food. So I do see cute little baby lambs to ooh and aah over, but I also see a viable business in progress, and have no problem holding both views in my mind simultaneously… 🙂

Weekly Prompt: Frolic

Procure or Endure

Wish I had the spare funds to procure
A new hip but I’m really not sure
Just how long I must wait
For an NHS date
Until then I must simply endure…

Just to say, I’m not really complaining about the NHS here, I think we have a potentially workable healthcare system here in the UK that is currently in complete crisis.

I certainly sympathise with the bloody awful situation the NHS is in post-pandemic (not that it was in the most robust of states before Covid, for that matter), and I know from personal experience just how hard individual staff members work on each shift.

If I’m complaining about anything it would be the Government having consistently demanded blood out of a stone year on year, well beyond the point of the NHS being left able to provide a manageable service.

But it’s still really frustrating to be on the receiving end of ever-expanding years-long waiting lists for debilitating health things (like my arthritic hip) to be treated with surgery.

It seems I will have to have completely ground to a halt joint-wise before anything can be done on the NHS with regard to them offering me a total hip replacement… sigh!

Fandango’s One Word Challenge: Procure