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.