There's A Woman In The Mall Poem by Ste. Anne

Careful, there's a woman in the mall
A sleek fierce woman with a child
Not a borrowed rib from Adam
Nor a blushing fragile rose
Not a woman whom men need fret about
Nor lurk nearby hoping to save.

I'm warning you about a woman.
Are you listening to me.
Do you hear what I'm saying when I say
There's a woman in the mall with a child

(I saw a woman run down a hill once)

Pay attention to what I say.
I saw a woman run down a hill once
Towards a canal in Ottawa
Her child had just run down the hill

Towards a canal in Ottawa
Towards a bunch of hippies
Living beside the canal.
They were living there in the sixties.

They meant no harm.
A boy laughed and danced with the child
And the mother ran down the hill
In Ottawa, towards the boy

Like an animal.
Like a fierce lioness, hissing
Hissing as she ran down the hill
Hissing, I will kill you now.

And the dancing boy leapt away
Just in time in Ottawa
Just in time to save his life
He leapt away from the child.

Careful, she's in the mall now
Fierce and gentle, loving and kind
Fierce without malice, hissing
Loving and kind.