Well-Behaved Women





I'm not in any way equating
a letter by Coretta Scott King
with Janis Joplin's sometimes colorful vocabulary.

There's no equivalence
between Janis and the words read by
She Who Was Warned, But Persisted.

But one of the ways that men
choose to exert their privilege
and power over women,
is to subtly or not-so-subtly
squelch our speech.
Make us feel wrong or stupid
for what we say.

They don't want us to speak out.
We might expose some ugly truths
they are trying to conceal.
They want to control the narrative.
Run the agenda. Be the bosses (of us).


They want us to know our place
and not make trouble.

You know the old saying. . .
well behaved women rarely make history.

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