“Order in the Mother City” | Walls | By Jennifer Thorpe | A Feminist Poem

It was
The force of the wall
That propelled her face forward
And back into the foot
That kicked it.

The kicker danced
The dance of a victorious soldier.
For he was a warrior in a long standing campaign
Of dominance
And hate.

Behind the wall,
And hidden from view,
A young girl played on her swing set
Took selfies with her Ipad
Unaware of the violence beyond.

Her mother
Was not abused
Just disabused of the notion
That one day she would come home
To find dinner on the table.

Along the street
A more hopeful woman walked
Witnessed the scene
And called the police
To restore order.

The police arrived
With lights unflashing
This was not a crisis
This was the order
In the Mother City.

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Image: Kwesi Abbensetts’ is a recent discovery. His body of work is many kinds of marvelous. He describes himself as a New York based Guyanese photographer. Click HERE to see more of his work. 

 About the Author

Jen Thorpe is a feminist writer and researcher from Cape Town, South Africa. She is a passionate advocate for women’s rights and has worked in this field for six years. She has an MA in Politics from Rhodes University, and recently completed her first novel ‘The Peculiars’ through the UCT Creative Writing Masters Programme. Look for it in stores soon.