GENERATION EQUALITY

It is equality when you work with her.
It is equality when she leads the team.
It is equality to see her, think her and call her the boss.
It is equality when she promotes her accomplishments.

It is equality to pay her the same as him for the same job.
It is for sure equality when you give her credit for that brilliant idea.
It is totally equality to admit she is more competent so she gets the job.
It is equality when she has an opinion and is confident to make it known.

It is equality when deciding for herself is norm.
It is equality when bias and stereotypes no longer define her.
It is equality when her achievements are no longer firsts.
It is equality when she is well represented in critical areas of concern.

It is definitely equality to treat her with respect and dignity.
It is absolutely equality to fight alongside her for peace and justice.
It is real equality to be her allie, support her future openly.
It is surely equality for her to reclaim and take up spaces.

Not just a woman, not just a girl, not just because she is your mother or wife,
Not just as your sister or your aunty, not just because she is your daughter,
But as the very evident, clear as day Human that she is in this generation and
Generations more to come.

An integral part of a collective whole, we all need to better uphold.  
Each one responsible, Each one acting consciously, Each one shaping up,
A generation for equality.

Belema .S. Ekine
belemascribbles

For a toddler, it is just an excitement
For a student, it is like a burden
For a researcher, it is divine as God
For a job seeker, it is like a weapon
For a teacher, it is like a holy book
For a writer, it is a passion to thrive
For a parent, it is everything with a diverse experience
For a job holder, it is his rewards for his education
and proud moment for his parents

And current scenario
is the most
blessed era,
Where
women and men
are provided
equal education,
Even though
some narrow mindsets
are still living,
Who never
accept
women as working
for many reasons,
But let’s
challenge those
and work
for the betterment of
Yourself,
Your family and
Your nation
To attain the
impossibilities
with your
limited situations
To change the world
with your
best knowledge
To brighten
the paths of
all pathfinders
To live with
dignity
And self esteem
By making it a
fruitful tree of
every education
That you received
for which
every parent
struggled a lot
Even when
surrounded with
the chain of
thousands of
commitment
of day today life.

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yesterday i bought a long distance calling card to talk to myself
there, not here, my body straddles two nations
yesterday i rubbed my fading purple stretch marks
i don’t know which language I dream in any more  
yesterday i sat in cold bathwater scrubbing until the purpura bleed
my mothers’ mothers’ mother died in a red river
my mothers mother’s mother birthed a nation
between her bleeding legs
most days I am still, her water’s edge, algae between teakwood toes
yesterday i bought a long distance calling card to tell myself

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Magsasampung taon na kitang mahal, mahal.
(I've been in love with you for almost ten years, love)
Ang tigas na siguro ng mga binti mo kakatakbo mo sa isipan ko.
(You're thigh muscles toughened bec you always run on my mind)
Pero mas masaya sana kung alam mo, mahal, na mahal kita.
(But I could be happier, love, if you just know that i love you.)
Pero di pa, di ko pa kayang sabihin sayo, baka siguro balang araw, kapag lahat ay huli na.
(But no, i still cant tell you, maybe someday, someday when its all too late.)

Born in a place that I don't call home
Raised in a country foreign to Mom
Stained with the colors of different flags
My soul and my heart: in different lands

"Where are you from?" So simple a question
Yet always I answer with such hesitation
For how do I choose from different parts
Of the whole that is me and my colorful heart?

The answer is simple, not complex at all
It's simply a matter of wearing them all
So I'll show them all proudly: my beautiful hues
For I've finally realized I don't have to choose

All of my best
(And worst) thoughts
Can be traced
Back to a foreign city
Where I walked the streets
Alone, at night

We're here now,
and theres more than the two of us.
But there's one feeling, and the same ache
yet different struggles
- * -
We all think the same things,
yet in different tongues.
The histories do not include us.
Our taste buds have had to adapt to the wind here,
we have learnt from the best of the chameleons.
- * -
It's the same stage set up and the curtains were never drawn,
but our eyes see a completely different story being played out.
Collective whispers greater than a shout.
Peace of mind has been a while, it'll take long...
Home isn't where the heart is, when the heart keeps moving around.