Wounding or Weaving, Words Work

I was recently asked to commission a piece with the inspiration: Women on Words, drawing from local experiences of targeted harassment following my work addressing inequalities.

It sparked a piece I will be releasing later this month called #BreakTheBias, Buy Us, By Us but also got my creative juices flowing and I'd like to share with you here, this International Women's Day 2022.

Let it remind us of the power we all hold to #BreakTheBias.

Corrosive or collaborative

Bruising or building

Harmful or helpful

Wounding or Weaving

The words we use matter

Listen and reflect

The words we use matter

We speak with our chest

The test is a battle

Of words, hearts and minds

Where words of some 'leaders'

Are words stained with lies

The voice of your neighbour

Silenced before speaking

As allies and warriors

Are doxxed, fooled and beaten

But allies of allies of allies will sow

Gaslight seed paper’s alight, the flames grow

A community’s building

The foundations run deep

For you come for my sibling

We peak when we speak

In whispers, in playgrounds

On calls and online

In boardrooms, in business

Like leaves lift from vines

The shoots are all fertile

With facts and with pride

And the more that’s attacked

The higher we rise.