Woman

By Stranger

There is a place inside of all women
A place that is woman

Red and pink and purple
The colors of bruised skin and babies

A place that a man is told he may never go, but must swear to protect

Where the softness of the world is born
And the hard edges are blunted

Where ugly is spun beautiful
And sadness waxed sweet

A place that trembles, always

Be her mask: goddess or witch, slave or princess
It trembles

On her hands and knees or sitting upon a throne
It trembles

It trembles that I may someday know its name

It runs from me, naked
With arms and hands
Covering breasts and cunt

Hiding from my hungry cock
As I stab it madly wherever flesh and woman yield

Hoping to pierce and puncture and tear the delicate membrane
That covers it like saliva on a tongue

Hoping answers and pleasure will spill out
Like fish cut from a net with a blade
Gasping and writhing and dying

I am conqueror hero
I am guardian destroyer

*Because there has been quite a bit of debate regarding this poem, I thought I would add this footnote. This poem is 100% metaphorical. It is not about sex and it is most certainly not about rape. It is about the parts deep inside of us that make us "man" or "woman". The aspects of our nature that a man must learn to control and a woman must learn to protect. That having been said: Thank you for taking the time to view my work. -Stranger*

Unauthorized Copying Is Prohibited. Ask the author first.

Published on Saturday, April 12, 2003. Filed under: "Poetry"

Comments on "Woman"

A former member wrote: Awesome work. I love the last two lines the most. Keep it up!
A former member wrote: hmmmm well, I say this defines woman in terms of her ability to reproduce, her sex organs, and her attractiveness to the opposite sex. Regardless of the rather brutal and violent images used to implicate the hymen, and loss of virginity, fearful exposure... there is still a sense of inner beauty developed as woman, and it does seem to capture the sociological gendered identity, as well as the stereotypes associated with it. In other words, the inner woman seems attacked by men along stereotypical lines with a societal realness that most would probably recognize. Interesting work, very conflicted and harsh, employing nasty images to very cerebral concepts, but somehow tender and celebratory.
A former member wrote: wow. this gave me chill bumps. amazing work you are very talented. STANDING OVATION!!!
On Friday, February 25, 2005, Sticky Kitty (241) wrote:

Lovely and beautifully done insightful more should think as you do -kitty
On Saturday, December 25, 2004, AniDayz (812) wrote:

ooops...existence. also i might add...this is well done. reminds me of how thankful i am to be a woman, and to be loved by one as well
On Saturday, December 25, 2004, AniDayz (812) wrote:

and had there been no intelligence to this piece, id have been a bit insulted, mortified [maybe?]but you add intricate metaphors and paint the portrayl of human esitence...grasp the differences between a man and a woman
On Saturday, December 25, 2004, AniDayz (812) wrote:

w/out your footnote, i think i would have gathered the same from this poem as i did w/ it. it is intelligently done with a force of energy
On Monday, November 22, 2004, Sin (1135) wrote:

this was amazing, insightful,and profound. i am left in awe ~kristy
A former member wrote: I am impressed. your best work! great job.
On Thursday, August 26, 2004, capt_funguy (777) wrote:

completely impressed - this transcends poetry , it is shown truth ... funguy
On Tuesday, March 2, 2004, Mistress Morbid (405) wrote:

And sadness waxed sweet..My favorite line! You are brilliant.
A former member wrote: Very impressive stuff, it stands out beautifully. Also a very original idea. ~Wish Upon A Star
On Monday, December 15, 2003, unusual_blood (74) wrote:

i especially like the message it gives out, awseome job. really.
On Monday, December 15, 2003, unusual_blood (74) wrote:

"And sadness waxed sweet" amazing line. I love how this poem screams out man and woman. I love the irony that it's a metaphor sounding like sex, but instead it is about what we are deep down inside, and
On Monday, October 20, 2003, Johny_D_Lewis (467) wrote:

well...mmmm...only word comes to mind...wow
On Thursday, October 16, 2003, Silver Spectre (95) wrote:

at the start I thought , this is going to be a peice on the treasures of woman and it was but also on the piracy of it all.... took me by surprise a bit,,well done~Silver
On Monday, October 6, 2003, urbanhumility (1158) wrote:

well done my friend, an introspection of masculine, and feminan.......one being no better than the other, merely ways to describe and emotion in a most intricate way........well done my friend.....urban
A former member wrote: this poem seems very cynical. I like that. you've won this round.
A former member wrote: I liked this poem~whort_diddy
On Tuesday, August 12, 2003, AshtrayDirt (31) wrote:

i really fucking like this poem. vivid. beautiful metaphors.
On Tuesday, July 1, 2003, KittyStryker (710) wrote:

oh yes... the purity of what makes us US... beyond what we wear, or how we act, there are deeper, primal feelings, thoughts, desires, needs... i felt the wildness and the intensity was incredible. well done.
On Saturday, June 14, 2003, GothicBlack (186) wrote:

well stranger bravo! This is a masterpiece, and should go down in DP history. It's such a strong poem and the metaphor in which you used works so well... it grabbed my attention the minute I started reading. ~gothic~
On Wednesday, June 11, 2003, Jonas (715) wrote:

i really like this piece... i'm of the school of thought that these pieces of being reside in every person, man or woman... i believe that men and women are really not that different at all... actually the same.
On Wednesday, July 9, 2008, KittyStryker (710) wrote:

Yes, yes, I agree with this. Having been deep within that trembling place, and having caused others to tremble in my wake, I appreciate this on a whole new level.
On Wednesday, July 9, 2008, Jonas (715) wrote:

i too read this a little more deeply, i think, five years later... aj, you are a poet's poet. thank you for keeping a bit of yourself here.
On Wednesday, April 30, 2003, IceDragoness (193) wrote:

Honestly I think men soften more of the edges of the world then women do, but I guess it's all relative
On Tuesday, April 29, 2003, IceDragoness (193) wrote:

You make down there sound like such a great place... As much as I cherish my femineity, some days I would rather be genderless... ~Dawn
On Tuesday, April 29, 2003, Stranger (263) wrote:

Thank you for the comment. However, this one of those poems everyone seems to interrupt very differently. This poems is entirely metaphorical. It is not actually about "down there". I referring to deeper place inside.
On Wednesday, April 23, 2003, liquid_emotion (323) wrote:

I didn't really get the vulnerable giving herself to a man... I got a take at any cost feeling.
On Wednesday, April 16, 2003, Jonas (715) wrote:

swiftly turning contrasts and the pull, punch realities of humanity in gender
On Saturday, April 12, 2003, Sinnocence (49) wrote:

oh my god! it started out and i thought "how sweet" but my jaw literally dropped when it did a complete 180! excellent... creepy, but excellent
On Saturday, April 12, 2003, CorruptedLittleGirl (243) wrote:

I couldn't have said it any better myself, sinnocence.