i am the colour of a race that battles for most things, i'm of the gender that outs me in the back burner of society;
i fight for a cause, i fight to be heard, i fight for my dreams;
and when i relax into my destiny, enjoying the successes i've achieved, i'm greeted by society's harsh and ruthless glass ceiling;
in my mind, i look up, and all i can see are blue skies, but the reality is, smeared into my face is the, how dare you try?
you see, life isn’t a breeze for a highly ambitious, brown-coloured woman like me;
truth is, life is full of naysayers screaming, metaphorically speaking, how dare you dream?
divinely it seems, glass ceilings are breakable, i’ve learnt to smash mine, like paintings by Michelangelo;
when the world drags me in, i reach out to the heavens, to breathe life on my visions, and sharpen my weapons;
when naysayers speak, of my goals out of reach, i turn off their ramble, unsubscribe from their channel;
when society says no, i say, you gotta go, there is no more dealing, with ruthless glass ceiling.
Our Pasifika poet this week is Miriam (Miri) Ratu, who was born in Fiji and grew up in Melbourne, Australia. She manages an IT business that’s co-owned with her English husband and is currently half-way through a Law degree. Miri is also an advocate against domestic violence through the yearly ‘Pacific Fashion Festival’ in Brisbane. Writing, for her, is like breathing in air and has served as comfort in happy and sad times throughout her life. Her poems are a source of empowerment for herself and others who need to be reminded of their own strength and power.
**You can follow more of Miri’s work by clicking on the links for her blog and social media channels below:
Blog: Beyond the Pacific.
Facebook: Beyond the Pacific Instagram: beyond_the_pacific