Such a fine father, the late Dina-nem, Norbert Bomai
Editing – it can turn a bowl of old stodge into a real delicacy

Deny thy father and refuse thy name?

PAULINE RIMAN

What is in a woman’s surname?
Everything about her father
Everything about her husband’s father
References to the patriarchy she belongs to

A male classification order for us women
Monuments to our fathers.
But what of our mothers?
She is nowhere in this nymic roadmap

We cannot trace her
We cannot find her
Even her maiden name is a man’s name
Trillions of women lost under patronymics

What do we know of them except their relation to men
The men are stabilized in a name
Whether married or single they will always be “Mr”
But we change, tearing down one patronymic monument to build another

When single it’s “Miss”
When married it’s “Mrs”
When unsure it’s “Ms”
Our identity and status is defined and regulated by men

How can we remember what has never been?
We construct our own matronymic monuments
We do it to honour our mothers and cradle our daughters

Comments

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Jimmy Awagl

Well expressed! The theme of denying the father will not be denied but it will deny the title of a woman to have your surname as it is a 'family' name.

Also in matrilineal societies the titles are always for the fathers.

Since, 'M'- stands for men whether it would be Miss, Ms, Mrs and the surname is the family name.

A great poem depicting the theme and father shall not be denied either.

Michael Dom

The How's and the Y's,

The Will you's and the Yes I do's.

The filial maze ends where it starts.

The Y is in the yes: it is a problem of identifying the correct sperm donor.

The search in our pants for our past: Yes,

The apoplexy of lust: is it

The double negatives XX which decide, if an O, an A, a B or an AB arrives as an XX or an XY?

The Y's don't know it,

The How's have it so keep asking.

The complete opposite of Yes is No, i.e. not XX but XY: No, no, no, yes.

"The perfect XX, not its deformed latter."

He asks, She knows better.

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