“Tongue on your words to taste you thereCouldn’t   read what youhad never written therePlayed your message overfeeling badPlayed your message over it was all I hadTo tell me what and whereforethis is what it said:I’m tired of you asking me whyI’m tired of words like the chatter of birdsGive me a pass, let me just get by”

American poet, essayist and feminist

Adrienne Rich was an American poet, essayist, and feminist. She was known as one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century. Her work brought the oppression of women and lesbians into the center of poetic discussion. She also challenged rigid ideas of identity within feminism, arguing for a feminism that could change and remain open, and she drew attention to the long current of solidarity and creativity among women, which she called the lesbian continuum.