by AA Maree
When temperature drops
and fuel is needed for fire
why is it always the women
seen struggling up hills with logs on their heads
when unemployed men sit at stop streets
waiting for offers to fix roofs and paint sheds ?
When fighting breaks out
and punches are thrown and glass
bottles are broken over faces and heads
why is it always the women
who end up cleaning and weeping in
hospital waiting rooms fighting for beds ?
When walking home each day
whether its dark or its light
why is it always the women
who watch carefully , switching over
to the other side of the street not listening to music
while men amble home humming carelessly ?
When tragedy strikes
at home or abroad
why is it always the women
writing stories for those forgotten
while men just write of themselves
unaware that Eve’s apple has always been rotten.