Poetry Lucette C. Bailliet

Dr. Lucette C. Bailliet

Summertime 

Bowl of fresh picked strawberries
Cut blooms from the agapanthus
Summer in all its brightness
Fetching sticks thrown in the dam
Dog latest game
Summer in all its ludic mode
Spinach, radishes, capsicums
Cucumbers, herbs a galore
Summer in a plate
Late afternoons siesta
To idle away the scorching heat
Summer pleasurable laziness
Drinks on the patio
Guilt free sundowner
Summer savoir-vivre
Evening strolls in the forest
Catching up some freshness
Summer longing hours
Fan cooling restless nights
Reading past bedtime
Summer dreaming.

Invisible women

From birth to death
We, women, are invisible
How many times
I've had heard
The total denial of her
With those words
"My father wanted a boy"?
Our running, climbing days
Fighting with the boys
Are cut short by the curse appearance
Suddenly the child looses her freedom
A new identity is forged in order to become a lady
The child disappears under a tight corset of rules
When she marries , the young wife
Looses her identity taking her husband's name
Roles and responsibilities take precedence over her
So much so that in some cases
She loses her career
Her achievements to date count for nothing
She starts anew
From the moment  the children are born
She only fulfills her duty
She is a nobody but a mother
When menopause knocks on the door
Accompanied by old age
She becomes completely invisible
Even on her tombstone
The words of  daughter, wife, mother
Define her but who was she really
This is the enigma of the invisible woman.