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Choose To Challenge by Purnima Ghogar

Picture of Choose To Challenge by Purnima Ghogar Purnima Ghogar Purnima Ghogar

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Description

Purnima Ghogar performs an original spoken word piece for International Women's Day (IWD) 2021 in response to the IWD #ChooseToChallenge theme, in which spoken word poets were invited to deliver important messages to help raise awareness and influence positive change. Through the form of a fractured fairytale, Purnima's poem celebrates collective resilience, equality, the importance of self esteem and unity, challenging gender inequality to promote an inclusive world. 

Purnima Ghogar is an Australian-Thai artist, author, poet, TEDx Speaker and teacher of creative writing and literature. Purnima's words are inspired by the universe, nature, the light and dark, diaspora, activism and explores themes of women's empowerment, identity, creativity, healing, self-discovery, growth and mental health. Her poetry and art depicts an aesthetic fusion from the wealth of her Indian and Thai heritages, as well as her interest in the special relationship between the visual and written modes of expression - this can also be seen in her illustrated and concrete poetry styles. She also performs her poetry to audiences in live settings, inspiring people from diverse backgrounds to embrace their authentic selves.

Follow Purnima on Social Media @purnimacreations

Lyrics

mirror mirror
on the wall,
i don't need to be
the fairest of all -
but just to all the women
that came before and formed me,
for they fought for a glimpse
in the looking glass and
forged space for us daughters
to rise so we could see
our own reflections grow
between each sunrise to moonlight

and when i look at myself now,
i see courage
birthed from her pain,
immeasurable love
nurtured from loss,
wisdom found
from being lost -
a woman borne from her
life's stages and ages...

and the longer i gaze
into her eyes,
the more her face
multiplies:
mothers, daughters, sisters
that i knew, know and am
yet to meet -

you see, this mirror holds our collective resilience

more than our
individual vulnerabilities -
its fragility doesn't define our breakability,
but projects us as rarities - 
faces full of the force of
womanhood

shatterproof faces

like porcelain,
i’m carved with shards of glass
that do not bleed
but seeps into the waterways 
under my skin;
they hold centuries of women’s 
stories untold –
and when provoked,
we unfold, undo, unweave
the challenges beset upon us
so that the only challenges
in front of us are the ones 
we set ourselves –
to be bolder, 
louder,
prouder
than ever before,
so that the only thing that could ever
shatter is the mirror 
from the thundering choir of our voices
challenging you
to look at yourself
and
reflect

choose to challenge

Page created on 8/8/2021 10:37:54 PM

Last edited 8/12/2021 2:50:41 PM