Poem - The Female Subject
Figure 1: Baptiste 2016. Heels to Tears.
Figure 2: Baptiste 2017. Untitled.
Who is she?
What does she represent?
Why is she so frequently naked, battered and bruised?
Why is she often sexualised and objectified?
Her glorified, fashioned image, held up, to represent her tribe
Her self-indulgent dalliances with the frivolous - evidence of a modern Goddess
Programmed youth gaze at rich images of her ‘unglory’
Conceiving new ways to appropriate her, idolise her
Once upon a time there was a dream
where all were equal
Once upon a time, they let their hairs down
wore long and short skirts, burnt bras,
and made love to long haired men with beards
they woke up thinking they had won
The wax of melted candles burning through the nights
remind some of yesterday
Nostalgic innocence of a time not so innocent
and yet
Something about those moments made us jump from our beds
and march down the streets
Hands wrapped in hands
Mouths filled with impassioned pleas
Sweet whispers and desires to be collectively better
The lights beam and glare
no need for candle lights
Marches without spark
and hands wrapped in arms
Shouts in ears made many deaf
and she said
their romance was dead
but he said
it was never a romance
The flashes go off
the flashes go off
She’s captured in trails of darkness
But who is she?
What does she represent?
References
Figure 1. BAPTISTE, MANDISA. 2016.Heels to Tears.
Figure 2. BAPTISTE, MANDISA. 2017.Untitled.
