Story by Portia Choi
Video provided by Anke Hodenpijl
There was poetry at the Women’s March in January 2018, Bakersfield, California.
Anke Hodenpijl recited two poems in front of a crowd to enthusiastic response. Her performance was on video. Hodenpijl was interviewed for Kern Poetry.
Two other poets, Mandy Anderson and Diane Lobre, were at the march. They were also interviewed for this story.
INTERVIEW OF ANKE HODENPIJL
How did it feel reciting your poems in front of such a big crowd?
Looking out at the crowd made me feel small, yet somehow I know my words were important. As I started to read, the crowd grew quieter and then quieter again. I thought, “They are really listening!” This felt empowering. When it was all over and they yelled “Yes!” in support, I felt affirmed and among friends. I felt safe.
What influenced you to write poetry in general?
Poetry was how I learned to read English, since it was my second language. I like expressions to be insightful, descriptive and succinct. The power of poetry to move the spirit, my own and others, inspired me to become a poet for life.
What influenced you to write the two poems that you performed at the march?
Poetry gave me a voice to respond to the outcome of the last election. These poems in particular were aroused by feelings of disappointment and anger. I edited them for this years march, in response to the hope I felt through sharing my voice with other like-minded people.
The poems of Hodenpijl are “Work” and “being Her.”
Work
by Anke Hodenpijl
that place in between
between imagination and satisfaction
between prayer and holiness
between spirit and love
between birth and re-birth
Gratitude is the dough I knead
with intentional hands
shaping and
caring for
that place in between
once again
retelling
this time with potent iterations
full-flavored, unconfused and knowing
Truth is the seed of swelling sophistication
Today, in my older years,
my Work is louder
because the ears of others
have forgotten
Or maybe they did not get
the text,
the instant message or
the tweet.
Let my work begin afresh,
rising,
not hesitatingly like a distant fog-covered sunrise,
but rather like an eruption,
unwilling to be punched down,
here
now
I say
My pussy is not yours to grab!
Your alternative facts, are not my reality.
My memory is clear.
Your words. Can. Not. reconstruct Herstory.
My Suffrage Brogue
creates an unmistakable landscape
as surely as the molten lava
claims the mountain side and the sea
from the center
to the heavens
this is who I am
this is where I’ve been
and, Yes, THIS is still my work.
© 2018 Anke Hodenpijl
being Her
by Anke Hodenpijl
being Her
used to be her deficiency
became her necessity
became her hope
became her legacy
became her Opus
became our Birthright
we dance with Her descant
disremembering
the cheerless and sticky rejection
the pluck of her pushback
the rumpus of Her March
as she labored for
equal rights
equal pay
equal humanity
in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and still
in this millennium
as we claim our apologue
from her swindle sheet
we exhume the after birth
and the caterwaul of resistance
the unjust reincarnation
of the Philistine Shadow
rising like stench from a too shallow grave
Are we to be ransomed again?
Time’s up?
Me too?
And
What is the price for the uncaging of a fearless life?
When will we be able to fly with the quiet confidence of a flock
murmurating in unison
agreeing through conscious heart
that we are full-toned, muscled and mighty?
Is it true what I’ve been told?
A Woman’s Work is never done?
being Her
sure feels that way.
©2017 Anke Hodenpijl
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INTERVIEW OF MANDY ANDERSON
What influenced you to write the poem you recited at Open Mic.
I wrote this poem, (“The Coming of age,”) the night before the Women’s March. I was up late excited for my first March so I decided the best way to use my time was to write.
I wrote this poem having young girls in mind. The transition from being a girl to becoming a woman can be so awkward.
Teenage boys don’t understand that’s why I added in “Steven laughs as I run to the bathroom”. She feels confused and nervous that the world has told her because her body is bleeding that she has become a women.
I also added “Why do we have to pay 75c” because I feel that it’s not right that our public restrooms ESPECIALLY those for young girls at school have to charge for something that is needed. That just brings more anxiety and embarssment for those not prepared for that moment. Instead of going discreetly to the bathroom they have to ask. I really felt connected with this piece and I had a lot of influence from the Women’s March.
What influenced you to write poetry in general?
I have been writing since I was 14. Some where along the way I stopped writing books and started writing just these little pieces. Each little quote or writing I would create always had a story to it.
Last year I fell into a really deep depression that sort of just built up from a lot of trauma. I was at home one day on Facebook when I came across a video on a Facebook page called Button poetry. The video was called “Explaining My Depression to My Mother” by Sabrina Benaim. I listened as this girl poured out her soul and mine along with it. It sparked something inside me.
I went back through all my writing and realized a lot of my work was stories of my struggles and my screams to be heard. I told myself that’s what I need to do. I needed to scream out my emotions through paper again. That’s when I sat down and poetry just started flowing out. It brought so much healing that I was not expecting.
The coming of age
by Mandy Anderson
Today I have become a woman
Blood drips down my leg
My childhood becomes a distant memory
Becoming a woman is great they say
Sex ed says I can get pregnant
Steven laughs as I run to the bathroom
Why do I have to pay 75c
Blood
we die if we lose too much
Periods
A sign of an ending
I feel my childhood dying.
A death so painfully inescapable
Today, I have become a woman
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INTERVIEW OF DIANE LOBRE
What was it like to be at the Women’s March?
I had reservation about going. (But) it was such a peaceful gathering. There were thousands of women there. Amazing. Lots of men were there. There were young and there were old. The women just wanted to stand with each other.
What was it like to hear Anke Hodenpijl recite her poems?
I did not hear all the words, (but) there was power, (incredible) response of the crowd. Anke kept raising the energy, (it was) definitely an inspiring moment.
When did you begin writing poetry?
I began writing poetry when I was twelve or thirteen. I wrote as part of self-expression. I was attracted to words.
Tell us about your poem “Eggshells”
I started to think about women who were not allowed to be themselves because they were married or had strong parents. They did not reach their full potential because they got held back and held down.
EGGSHELLS
BY DIANE LOBRE
Eyes down
Listening carefully
For signs
A raised voice
Tension exuded
Tangible
Quiet
Whispering steps
Toward
Landmines
Of past
Transgressions
Breath held
Automated
Movement
Careful
Every word
Spoken
Can
Be a trigger
Pointed
At the target
Of the heart
And mind
Body can
Be broken
Mended
Broken
Mended
Twisted
Pain
Raining down
Molding
Shaping
Thoughts and
Actions
Reactions become
Routine
Controlled
Emotion
Stuffed down
Held in check
By the Other
Masking
Self
Invisible
Unknown
Shrunken
All potential
Drowned
In tears
Useless
Numbed
Buried
The girl
The hopes
The dreams
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the local newspaper, The Bakersfield Californian, there was an opinion about the Women’s March by Tracy Correa Lopez. It was in the “COMMUNITY VOICES” of FORUM section.
Lopez wrote, “The first official Women’s March Kern County—arguably one of the largest marches in the city’s history—was an overwhelming success. . . . We hoped for 1,000 attendees, but it turned out to be so much more. . . . Today, estimates are more than 5,000 took part. . . . We threw a party and they came. And it was peaceful. It was unifying.”