Transcribe
Translate
Take Back the Night meeting notes and plans, 1982
Take Back The Night : Speaking Out Page 7
More information
digital collection
archival collection guide
transcription tips
with no immediate cause every 3 minutes a woman is beaten every five minutes a woman is raped/every ten minutes a lil girl is molested yet I rode the subway today i sat next to an old man who may have beaten his old wife 3 minutes ago or 3 days/30 years ago he might have sodomized his daughter but i sat there cuz the young men on the train might beat some young women later in the day or tomorrow i might not shut my door fast enuf/push hard enuf every 3 minutes it happens some woman's innocence rushes to her cheeks/pours from her mouth like the betsy wetsy dolls have been torn apart/their mouths mensis red & split/every three minutes a shoulder is jammed through plaster & the oven door/ chairs push thru the rib cage/hot water or boiling sperm decorate her boyd i rode the subway today & bought a paper from a man who might have held his old lady onto a hot pressing iron/i dont know maybe he catches lil girls in the park & rips open their behinds with steel rods/i cant decide what he might have done i only know every 3 minutes every 5 minutes every 10 minutes/so i bought the paper looking for the announcement the discovery/of the dismembered woman's body/the victims have not all been identified/today they are naked & dead/refuse to testify/one girl out of 10's not coherent/i took the coffee & spit it up/i found an announcement/not the woman's bloated body in the river/floating not the child bleeding in the 59th street corridor/not the baby broken on the floor/ "There is some concern that alleged battered women might start to murder their husbands & lovers with no immediate cause" i spit up i vomit i am screaming we all have immediate cause every 3 minutes every 5 minutes every 10 minutes every day women's bodies are found in alleys & bedrooms/at the top of the stairs before i ride the subway/buy a paper/drink coffee/i must know/ have you hurt a woman today did you beat a woman today throw a child cross a room are the lil girl's panties in yr pocket did you hut a woman today i have to ask these obscene questions the authorities require me to establish immediate cause every three minutes every five minutes every ten minutes every day Ntozake Shange
Saving...
prev
next
with no immediate cause every 3 minutes a woman is beaten every five minutes a woman is raped/every ten minutes a lil girl is molested yet I rode the subway today i sat next to an old man who may have beaten his old wife 3 minutes ago or 3 days/30 years ago he might have sodomized his daughter but i sat there cuz the young men on the train might beat some young women later in the day or tomorrow i might not shut my door fast enuf/push hard enuf every 3 minutes it happens some woman's innocence rushes to her cheeks/pours from her mouth like the betsy wetsy dolls have been torn apart/their mouths mensis red & split/every three minutes a shoulder is jammed through plaster & the oven door/ chairs push thru the rib cage/hot water or boiling sperm decorate her boyd i rode the subway today & bought a paper from a man who might have held his old lady onto a hot pressing iron/i dont know maybe he catches lil girls in the park & rips open their behinds with steel rods/i cant decide what he might have done i only know every 3 minutes every 5 minutes every 10 minutes/so i bought the paper looking for the announcement the discovery/of the dismembered woman's body/the victims have not all been identified/today they are naked & dead/refuse to testify/one girl out of 10's not coherent/i took the coffee & spit it up/i found an announcement/not the woman's bloated body in the river/floating not the child bleeding in the 59th street corridor/not the baby broken on the floor/ "There is some concern that alleged battered women might start to murder their husbands & lovers with no immediate cause" i spit up i vomit i am screaming we all have immediate cause every 3 minutes every 5 minutes every 10 minutes every day women's bodies are found in alleys & bedrooms/at the top of the stairs before i ride the subway/buy a paper/drink coffee/i must know/ have you hurt a woman today did you beat a woman today throw a child cross a room are the lil girl's panties in yr pocket did you hut a woman today i have to ask these obscene questions the authorities require me to establish immediate cause every three minutes every five minutes every ten minutes every day Ntozake Shange
Campus Culture
sidebar
