i write poetry about things that are close to my heart and people who are close to my heart and i think that one of the greatest sources of inspiration for me are the women with whom i work the women who are battered the women who are attempting to recover from addictions whether it's to chemicals or whether it's to violence i get inspiration from the women i work with the young women who i see such powerful leadership possibilities those who are trying to find their voices to trying to fight try to find their creative streams i i gain inspiration from the women and the men and especially the children who in spite of the hunger that they face every night in spite of the poverty the abuse the addictions that they see the violence they experience on the streets in spite of their homelessness in spite of the humiliations of poverty that they have such a resilience to rise up and to have such a verb for life and to have the ability to love in spite of it all bad women is a poem about redefining language that is used to demean women and change them to lift us up words that have passed judgment on women like bad to now mean extraordinary to be bad is to be bold to be outspoken not to hold back on the truth and not take the back seat i said to the first lady maria shriver that she was a bad woman because she is one of the most powerful and empowering voices among us bad women can cook create a miracle in a pot create something out of chicken feet pigs feet cornmeal hogma fish heads ribs roots soy or red beans bad women celebrate themselves dark as plums and coffee light as cream and butter cold gold as sun on lemons red as cinnamon brown as cola plump as mango skinny as tallow bad women flaunt themselves finger popping hips shaking big left smart thinking wise speaking soft syllable tangerine lipstick queens small and full breasted women fat kneed thin ankled women who dance without warning wrap their men or their women around their waist and boogie to the edge of dawn bad women resist war poverty violent love affairs child abuse and unsafe sex bad women know how to stir our tears into cups of compassion add some hot sauce wasabi five spices jalapenos the salt of memory stock the fires of history simmer and resilience make it taste like home bad women can burn