To all the women who went before #dVerse #prosery

Women who went before

They were given many names, like ‘witch,’ or ‘bitch,’ or ‘whore.’ I dress in their stories, patterned and purple as night, like the bruises they wore: these troublesome women who always wanted more. Why wouldn’t they just accept their position as subordinate, as Adam’s rib, as The Lord commanded it? So the men would ask. And let’s not fail to mention their hysteria: never the same person for more than a few days, curse of the wandering womb. They tried us and burned us as witches, confined us within asylums. Such actions could only have meant one thing: they were afraid of us. And so they should have been, and should be still. Watch out patriarchs: we’ve taken back the night. Now we’re coming for you.

Written for dVerse

Tonight, Lisa hosts Prosery, and has given us a line from “When We Sing of Might” by the poet Kimberly Blaeser to include within our short prose pieces:

I dress in their stories patterned and purple
as night. 

This came out as a haibun, but I tweaked it a bit, so I hope it meets the Prosery requirements!

70 thoughts on “To all the women who went before #dVerse #prosery”

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  1. !!!!!!!BRAVO!!!!!!! Ingrid. My scalp started tingling at the image and kept right on until your thunderous conclusion. Most excellent, Most Wonderful Woman Who Runs with the Wolves <3

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  4. Oh this is good…….the title grabbed me and didnt let go. Not that long ago a woman could be institutionalized if she was “difficult” or “hysterical”. Unhappiness with oppression was seen as crazy, and not that long ago either. So well written.

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    1. You shouldn’t feel maligned, Glenn: this is aimed at men who treat women with abuse and contempt. I am sure you are not one of those!

      Reply

  8. told straight from the hip, well done Ingrid!

    patriarchy look out, we with “curse of the wandering womb.” will visit when least expected 🙂

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  12. Beautiful rythm to this prose, and I really like the topic, but even more the way you dealt with it, and even more so as I have 3 daughters who deserve better than previous generations, decades and times. Your strongest word was “The”…about The men, and I totally agree with you. The men still exist, and other men, too, want it all gone. The other powerful word was that Lord. And there my anger and bitterness remains about what was done in his name. All those young woman, throughout the centuries, forced to becomes nuns and abused by the church…your piece got me going I’m afraid…

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    1. I fear for your daughters’ generation. All I see in the shops for young girls are anatomically disproportioned dolls, and then there are the pressures from things like Instagram when they get older. So much pressure to just be beautiful and useless!

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      1. FYI: I just set up my webnovel late tonight and tweeted the link (may not work well on laptops) I mentioned the Anthropocene Hymnal in my bio so hopefully it gets a few more eyes! 😍 I’ll have to post it on my blog tomorrow, getting to bed now!

  20. you effectively created that buildup. can feel the disgust and spite especially this line – accept their position as subordinate, as Adam’s rib . and i am here for the haunting end!

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  26. First, I agree wholeheartedly with the essence of your piece her Ingrid. I think powerful, unified women “might” be able to right this tipping ship. The problem is, I see so many fractured elements of society “coming for” the rest of society, that its a just becoming a pushing and shoving match — and that will NEVER get things headed in one, UNIFIED direction. And that is the crux of the matter right now, we need to figure out how to push together, in a positive direction out of this shit-show, or society is going to topple in chaos — I believe that 100%. I also don’t see anyone, on any horizon, capable of manifesting that type of leadership role. We are collapsing as a world society, with much clatter and clutter, CHAOS IS WINNING — ANARCHY! From this point, on into the future, it’s a ride down on the rubble, to the ground. My best advice, don’t get crushed, begin to develop great patience, learn well primary survival skills, and hone brilliant 20/20 “social vision”, so you can finally spot when the “rise from the ruin” actually begins — knowing their there are going to be more than one false start in the next period to come — and that period will likely last more than a generation. So keep your head on — and down… until then. I feel this in my bones,

    Reply

    1. You’re right that we are in a period of massive upheaval and transformation. I honestly don’t know if we, as a species, can survive it.

      Reply

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