In honor of International Women’s Day, I wrote poetry inspired by one of my favorite poems called “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou.
I first heard of Maya Angelou in my grade 10 English class when I started taking writing poetry more seriously. In Angelou’s beautiful poem, she uses the phrase “phenomenally, phenomenal women” and describes women being unapologetically themselves.
However, in my poem “MORE THAN A DAY,” I describe my feelings about International Women’s Day and how women deserve to be celebrated on more than just a day.
MORE THAN A DAY
Today is a day to celebrate phenomenal women.
But I know deep down the struggles we face.
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The pain and exhaustion linger beyond trace.
The physical, emotional, and spiritual labor
From raising families out of nothing
From facing undiagnosed illnesses
From living up to male standards
From putting our needs on hold
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To all my phenomenal women.
I know you are tired.
But I know you are the brightest in the room.
I know you are more than just your beautiful body.
I know you are more than what any of these fools make of you.
So I understand how today is a day to celebrate ourselves because we deserve an uproar.
We deserve a parade, an anthem, a standing ovation.
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But why did we have to prove ourselves to celebrate?
Why isn’t our mere existence a celebration?
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So to all my phenomenally, phenomenal women.
Who the world watches in awe today.
Remember that you are more than a single day.
You are a lifetime.
You’ll never fade away. -@nimras.canvas
