To those women

May 20

By Ben Hawkins

To those women
Who rise at the crack of dawn
That told me about their daughters
That were off to Barcelona
And about how they’d walked all the way here
Which was impressive
Because they lived in Norris Green
And that was a while away

To those women
Who take everything on the chin
And then some
I’ve seen some of you cry
I’ve seen some of you scream
I’ve seen you stand up to monstrous men
All five foot one of you
Never backing down, quite right too

To those women
Who told me that love was real
And that the love I had was real
You told me that you’d been here before
A long time ago
And that I didn’t need to worry
Because we all do things wrong
And then we do things right
You’d learned it all the hard way
Three times, to be exact

To those women
The people that showed me the ropes
Sure, I knew the basics
But they knew the tricks of the trade
What to do when everything goes wrong
How to fix an impossible problem
When you’ve been abandoned
And you’re on a desert island
How to fix anything at all

To those women
Who might not remember my name
Hell, some of them are three times my age
But I remember them
Like it was yesterday
I’ll always bring them with me
I’ll take them far and wide
If nothing but to return the favour

To those women
Who I saw every day for a summer
When the skies were orange
And blocks of flats were my pine trees
You made me excited
To work a ten hour shift
Because I knew we’d have a laugh
And I had somewhere to fit in

To those women
I hope you’re all okay
I hope you have someone
You speak to every day
Someone to guide
Someone to listen to your woes
About the son who owes you a twenty
Or the hand-me-down iPhone you broke
Someone to back you up
In times of great torment
Or when some idiot calls you stupid
Because you’re run off your feet
Someone to appreciate you
Like you did me