I chose these pieces because I love my poems. The purpose of these pieces were to be someone in history and first, to write a poem as if you where them. Then, to be yourself and write about your struggle and peaceful protest strategies. One similar thing between the 2 poems is that Betty Friedan and I both use writing as our peaceful protest to inform people about our struggle. I learned that there is power in writing.
Betty Friedan Freedom Song
I am the voice of my time,
A strong woman of some kind,
I write on paper what women think in their mind,
Courage is what my writing helps them find.
I give them that little push that someone gave me,
I offer support and try to help them see,
I show them their courage and make them believe,
So they can have the strength to be free.
I help women fight.
For their equal and choice rights,
For all of the ones that are very bright,
but are made shadows by the men’s light.
I help them find their place,
I help them join in the race,
Even if it just puts a smile on their face,
it fills the part of my heart, that use to be empty space.
I fight for equal opportunity, between the woman and man.
For feminine issues I take a stand,
do any and everything I can,
but I fight with my words, not my hand.
remembering staying nonviolent is an important part,
and peaceful words are a good place to start,
I have to always remember to work smart,
I fight first with my brain, then with my heart.
My Freedom Song
I was born to lead,
I was born to roam the world freely,
not be bounded by the stereotypes of my community,
But I have courage and bravery.
I fight against the odds and try,
even when I’m scared and want to cry,
I am the person that believes they can fly,
the free bird that roams the sky.
I still push, when my back’s against the rope,
I keep going, when there’s little hope,
I say yes, when others are quick to say no,
I keep moving, even if I don’t know where to go.
I refuse to let my people be invisible,
when we have so much potential,
And the things that are essential,
to making my people invincible.
I work by using my brain,
writing poems and speeches to let others know our pain,
Some people think us “people” are all the same,
but I don’t use it as a weakness but a gain.
I am guided by my heart,
and my civil words play a key part,
as long as my brain and body are never apart,
then I can make peaceful creative art.