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.