Read some poetry inspired by the women of our WNO Community Chorus South.
This summer we’ve working on a brand new production Rhondda Rips It Up!, currently on tour across England and Wales, and we have taken the women of our Community Chorus South on this special journey with us, performing a medley of rousing suffragette songs at some of the venues during our tour. The Community Chorus has been an integral part of Rhondda Rips It Up!, but who are these women?
They are all people who have a passion for singing and have decided to volunteer their time to be a part of this chorus. From vets to retirees, students to mothers, these are all real women with stories to share, and that’s exactly what we have done.
The wonderful poet Louise Osborn met the women and composed some beautiful poetry which captures all the varying personalities in the Chorus. This poem is written to encapsulate the wonder of all these women have achieved.
Open Mouthed by Louise Osborn
We sing in one voice, our heartbeats pound together
But, whilst we join in harmonic song and complex beat,
Standing, side-by-side and open mouthed in womanhood,
We do not know each other well.
Us, the chosen warblers.
A sea of faces, each from a different Welsh-warm home
A congregation, a gathering, anonymous, unknown.
So, here’s our voice, our self-ness shared,
Dared to be voiced and spoken out loud,
For you, our welcome eavesdroppers.
So, who are we, in all our beautiful, strange variety?
We are women, who, with forbearance have cared and cured,
Looked after, nursed and helped restore,
To health and well-being those in pain.
We’ve kept Wales safer, fed hungry birds
Worked with paints and worked with words.
Struggling with insufficient hours each day,
We’ve broken in horses and written plays,
Reared our own kids and taken in strays.
We’ve delivered infants, advised and counseled,
Diagnosed and laid on healing hands,
We’ve cleaned up shit and wiped up puke
We’ve painted walls and played in bands.
We’ve worried, planned, kept all on track
Made love, and jam, and marmalade,
We’ve watched the backs of those we’ve loved,
Forgiven, sometimes, when they’ve strayed.
We’ve unblocked loos, cleared jammed up drains,
Massaged away many aches and pains,
We’ve labored children and seen them go -
We’ve buried our dead and cleared the snow.
We’ve walked the beat and made arrests
Stuck out our necks and done our best
To fight for justice and protest
At moral outrage, at prejudice and hate -
We’ve steered our young toward their fate.
We’ve Nannied in Normandy, au-paired in Paris,
Complained when colleagues have been harassed,
We’ve blown the whistle,
which took some nerve,
We’ve watched as governments have seriously swerved
From pledges and promises and stripped away rights
Lost our salaries and taken on fights -
We’ve led Trade Unions, marched with banners,
Taught maths and science and our kids good manners.
We’ve been bullied and reduced, sidelined and shamed,
Groped and harassed and wrongly blamed.
We’ve cleaned and dusted, stripped down beds
Washed clothing mountains and deloused heads.
We’ve revised for tests and vacuumed floors
We’ve marshalled top judges and studied law
Baked stunning cakes and made pots of tea
Whilst composing our thesis for our PhD’s.
We’ve sold vibrating cushions and pints of beer
Benetton sweaters and records in Woolies,
We’ve sewed and knitted and swum out to the pier,
Looked after the vulnerable and taken on bullies.
We’ve translated and typed and taught and nursed,
Rearranged the dishwasher, sworn and cursed
Offered therapy and friendship and seen to the garden,
Sent letters of condolence and letters of pardon.
We’ve spent many hours at the sink with the dishes,
Taught infants and music and sent birthday wishes.
We’ve made pots and mosaics and ovens from clay
Baking in the heat of an African day.
We’ve played Violins and flutes and pianos and drums
We’ve been daughters and sisters and aunties and mums.
We’ve been lovers and wives
and had wonderful chums,
We’ve cared deeply for animals, raised donkeys and hens,
Loving cats and dogs as very close friends.
We’ve exercised and supervised,
Ridden bikes and gone on hikes,
We’ve had adventures and travelled the world
Grown flowers and veg and seen life unfurled.
Some of us face ageing and all that entails,
Whilst some of us face the future with fresh wind in our sails.
We are all women, who need more sleep,
Who dream of peace and fear for the world
Who worry for the futures of the young of our tribe -
Too much junk food and too few greens,
Social media and a crisis in health,
And too big a gulf with those who hold wealth.
Depression, recession and years too austere
We grip on tight to all we hold dear,
We put our best feet forward and sing out our souls,
A great beautiful sound for you all to behold.
Together of one voice, together we soar,
So, for now, we keep on warbling with hope at the door.
If you’d like to hear the Chorus, they will be singing before the performances of Rhondda Rips It Up! at certain venues and dates. There is also a chance for you to sing with them at these dates as part of our Come & Sing sessions before heading in to see the production.