Woman Writer

WOMAN WRITER If interviewed on the subject of the sonnet What man has brought me endless cups of tea? They’ll say I’ve got a Queen Bee in my bonnet The male groupies will not type my poems for me. What golden mother lives without inspiration? What sister can be truly herself, and tackle The canon in the patriarchal cold, the purgation Of miles of libraries with the truth a hackle? The worst thing is that there’s no male muse - I don’t feel the marginalisation or the neglect Quite as much as the possibility I might lose The reader in the absence of his call-collect - And I must be very careful with my man - I lose a husband if I kiss a fan. by Rosemarie Rowley