185: The Fool

I picture you so clearly
when I think about the past
most memorable of my teachers
your influence unsurpassed.
You taught me geography and geology
and fed my passion to understand this world.
I looked up to you, yet we ridiculed you too
in a manner that now disturbs.

You had a brilliant mind
you stretched me.
I adored the concepts taught
but your eighties style
and brash earring choice
was something we all abhorred.

Your most noticeable feature
was your more than ample bosom
both lopsided and misshapen
I don’t know how you coped
with the lampooning and jokes
and your annual on-stage humiliation.

It was cruel and it disgusts me
To think that I sat and laughed
As I watched those girls
imitate and denigrate your body.
It sickens me today.
The memory I find so offensive
is not the one I want to take away.

You taught me about women in society

gatekeepers, dignity and so much more.
I applaud your courage and tenacity
and the way you were so self-assured.
You spoke about bureaucrats, politicians, bankers
and others who had the power
to keep us in our place or open doors
the ability to grant or deny access
to equality, status and law.

I drank it all in eagerly
and was unsurprised when I hit those walls.
I ran back and forth and pounded
but I could not make them fall.
Then one day I realised
it was me that had to change
that I had to stop asking for respect
but command it
by behaving as if it was already there
that to expect from others
what I didn’t give myself
was absurd and totally unfair.

Your outer world reflects your inner
was the lesson I had to learn
You lived it and yet I didn’t see
The truth too subtle for me to discern.
You gave no credence to your detractors.
You never once dignified any slight with a response.
You sailed your ship skilfully
with respect and inspiring dignity
while we made fools of ourselves, not you.

Lady Satellite