By Rex Catubig

 

IN celebration of the Women’s Month this March

Note: A friend posted this poem by Rupi Kaur on Facebook. I googled her:

Rupi Kaur is a Canadian poet, illustrator, photographer, and author. Born in Punjab, India, Kaur immigrated to Canada at a young age with her family. She began performing poetry in 2009 and rose to fame on Instagram, eventually becoming a popular poet through her three collections of poetry. Wikipedia.

This is what she wrote about her poem:

“I wrote this poem during women’s month back in 2013 or 2014.  At the time i was becoming aware of a few things:

I realized that out of any compliment I could receive nothing felt as good as hearing the word pretty and I hated that.

The compliment I gave to girls and women most often was about their looks. “Omg you look so good. You’re so pretty. You’re so beautiful”. There’s nothing wrong with telling someone how great they look… but these girls and women were doing so many incredible things in their lives.

They were making moves that were changing the world and here I was complimenting their looks as if that was the greatest thing about them.

Of course that wasn’t my intention- but I wanted to be more thoughtful in my compliments and make sure I was amplifying all aspects of those I loved- especially the aspects that aren’t visible”.

She went on to say:

“I want to apologize to all women
I have called pretty
Before I called them intelligent or brave
I am sorry I made it sound as though
something as simple as what you’re born with
is the most you have to be proud of when your
|spirit has crumbled mountains
From now on I will say things like
You are resilient or you are extraordinary
Not because I don’t think you’re pretty
But because you are so much more than that.”

Upon reading that, this is what I wrote to echo her message:

I have to apologize to women I thought were ugly
Before I have thought of them as lovers, or housewives, or mothers.
I am sorry I did not look hard enough
when your hearts have loved us
and your wombs bore
and nurtured the dormant dreams of our tumescent groins.
From now on, I will gaze behind your eyes
and stare deep into your souls.
No longer afraid to turn into stone
Because deep within,
I love you more than you’ll ever know.

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