‘Them’ - a Poem

“Them” was written in response to a moment many women know too well: sitting in rooms where your silence isn’t noticed, and your voice, when it does surface, is filtered through the lens of someone else’s authority. It’s tired and it happens daily to too many of us.

This poem threads together quiet frustration that many of us experience, asking:
What happens when even your capability must be announced by someone else?

Them

I was sitting in the small meeting room,
Deprived of sunlight, colour and creativity,
Listening to the many opinions from the same few
Men.

Conversations about nothing, 
What-ifs and Whens.
They tire me,
Until I drift,
Body and soul separating,
Caught between being 
and nothing.

I’m tired of listening to Them.
What should I say, 
How should I look,
Oh, you say, I’m capable? 
Thank you for telling me.

Maybe I needed a wake-up call.
Should have left that fucking room sooner.
And stop listening to the noise,
Of swollen egos,
Tucked behind the veils of false feminism, 
That celebrates us; only if we fit their mould.

This world was never built for us.
Our ambition - praised only when it mirrors Theirs,
Our beauty - valid when it fits Their gaze.

But I’m no longer listening.

Agata Bendik

Writer, speaker, and co-founder of Radical Signals.

Agata Bendik is a poet and storyteller exploring feminism, resistance, and the quiet violence of systems we call normal. Her work blends personal memory with social critique, often drawing from the overlooked or unspoken. She is the co-founder of Radical Signals, and Husk Ventures, a frontier innovation consultancy based between Europe and Southeast Asia.

Educated in Poland, Denmark, and South Korea, she studied Communication Strategy and Innovation, and was shortlisted for the TechWomen100 Awards for her work with the world’s biggest innovation brands. She is currently working on creating concepts that support women leaders and activists and writing her first book.

https://www.instagram.com/agathambendik/ - Follow her story on IG