Appraisal

A salute, crisp; a jaw, set.
A hand, precise, armed to beset.
Where you perceive a woman, too frail to kill,
I see a soldier, with a passion to fulfill.

Skipped meals and sleepless nights,
Patience encased in doctor's whites.
Where you perceive a woman past her best days,
I see sacrifice, and countless lives saved.

In a hard helmet and blue overalls,
She builds your floors and puts up your walls.
Where you perceive a woman in a hot costume,
I see an engineer with your ego to deplume.

We need no handicap, nor your appraisal.
We stand our ground, quite equally able.
We do all you do, so why compare?
We will, forever, our choices declare.