i am the colour of a race
that battles for most things,
i’m of the gender that outs me
in the back burner of society;

i fight for a cause,
i fight to be heard,
i fight for my dreams;

and when i relax into my destiny,
enjoying the successes i’ve achieved,
i’m greeted by society’s harsh
and ruthless glass ceiling;

in my mind, i look up, and
all i can see are blue skies,
but the reality is, smeared into my face
is the, how dare you try?

you see,
life isn’t a breeze
for a highly ambitious,
brown-coloured woman like me;

truth is,
life is full of naysayers screaming,
metaphorically speaking,
how dare you dream?

divinely it seems,
glass ceilings are breakable,
i’ve learnt to smash mine,
like paintings by Michelangelo;

when the world drags me in,
i reach out to the heavens,
to breathe life on my visions,
and sharpen my weapons;

when naysayers speak,
of my goals out of reach,
i turn off their ramble,
unsubscribe from their channel;

when society says no,
i say, you gotta go,
there is no more dealing,
with ruthless glass ceiling.

“That Ruthless Glass Ceiling,” poem by Miriam Ratu.

If you’re a goal-driven person regardless of gender or race, I’m positive you have experienced the tall-poppy syndrome from others to cut you down to size or that glass ceiling from many to push you back down.

This poem is specifically written for my sisters around the world, smash that glass ceiling! Keep dreaming, keep striving, keep winning!

*** Image by Mahek Goyal ***