“Here, the Wings I Took,” or upon Listening to Bebe Rexha a Poem in Apology to Women Harmed by a Thief, in Honor of International Women’s Day
Here, the wings I took, have them back.
You, brave like an angel, took flight,
Unstoppable. The thief I was thought
He deserved more to fly and set storms
For you to navigate as he tornadoed life
Spitting out Dorothy in a dust bowl rife
With the weeds he and his bandit guild
Planted in soil you mulched from waste
Of half eaten hearts and cracked shells.
Here, the wings I took, have them back.
The thief I was… am now on my knees,
Fingernails protecting the dirt we dug
Together to plant our seed in new lives.
Fly, fly! The air has been awaiting you.
I will be here, harvesting the garden,
Sweating off the onions to flavor meat
You gather hunting down your meant life
With full heart like a feathered phoenix.
Here, the wings I took, have them back.
I am not that thief anymore, and for him,
I apologize. Now, in our intersections,
Marked by three trees, I vow my best blood
To give until nothing left but on a stump
You could sit, not that you’ll ever want
To sit here. And… now, on separate paths
My amends will be recovering the man meant
To be here and fly, aloft on my own wings.
Bebe Rexha You Can’t Stop The Girl (From Disney’s “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”)
Oh, they’re tryna shoot down angels
They’re tryna pull their wings off
So they can’t fly
And, oh, but she’s so brave, though
Just like a tornado
She’s taking us by storm
You can’t stop the girl from going
You can’t stop the world from knowing
The truth will set you free, oh
You can’t stop the girl from going
You can’t stop the world from knowing
The truth will set you free, oh
You can’t stop the girl
They’re tryna take our voices
They’re tryna make our choices
So we scream loud, loud, loud
And, oh, I know you feel the lightnin’
And it’s so excitin’
So, here we come
You can’t stop the girl from going
You can’t stop the world from knowing
The truth will set you free, oh
You can’t stop the girl from going
You can’t stop the world from knowing
The truth will set you free, oh
You can’t stop the girl
You can’t stop the girl
You can’t stop the girl
No, you can’t stop the girl
Oh, I know you feel the lightnin’
And it’s so excitin’
So, here we come
That’s good enough for right now
Songwriters: Aaron Huffman / Alex Schwartz / Bleta Bebe Rexha / Evan Sult / Jeff Lin / Joe Khajadourian / Michael Pollack / Nate Cyphert / Sean Nelson
You Can’t Stop The Girl lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
20 Responses to ““Here, the Wings I Took,” or upon Listening to Bebe Rexha a Poem in Apology to Women Harmed by a Thief, in Honor of International Women’s Day”
Beautiful poem and beautiful song!
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Thank you. 🤓🙏🙏🙏🤓
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This was touching. Thank you for sharing.
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Thank you so much. 🤓
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It is never too late…beautiful!
And the song too!
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Thank you. 🤓🙏🙏🙏🤓
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You are welcome. 😊
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” … the wings I took” … OHMI! What a way to put all that down, with humility and care. Was like watching a visual. I had to re-read, heart in mouth, worrying about your own wings. Good writing always does that. Causes a stir!
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Adore these lines in your last stanza Stephen,
“Here, the wings I took, have them back.
I am not that thief anymore, and for him,
I apologize. Now, in our intersections,
Marked by three trees, I vow my best blood
To give until nothing left but on a stump”
……….. I always wanted to give my Angel wings, so she could fly again……. and the song fits your poem superbly……
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Thank you Ivor; this one carries meaning in a different fashion for me, one that truly seeks forgiveness, but it had a powerful affect on me.
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It’s a powerful piece and, like a good poem, it is open to interpretations
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Agreed… which I love. When a poem carries a certain baggage for the author that a reader unpacks and finds a different treasure… makes me big happy
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I particularly like the refrain, “Here, the wings I took, have them back.”
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Thank you Liz
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A fantastic poem.
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Oh, Stephen, how beautiful. Wonderfully emotional, if that makes sense.
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Thank you Eugi and yes I think so! 😬
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👍
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