For too long, my hands have been tied.

For too long, my eyes forced closed by the Lions around me.

For too long, my tongue overwhelmed by the unrelenting beatings

Men have taken control.

I struggle against the currents that seem to envelop my words, 

My head, slowly sinking under the water,

And yet I continue to shout,

“Equality now!”

“We are just as good as you!”

“Down with the glass ceiling!”

But the Lions seem to feast on my cries,

Their lashes, beating me down,

And my voice seems lost, floating away,

Into this empty space we call the world.

I am ignored,

I am unheard,

I am not going to stop trying.

Why?

Because I am a woman.