WOMEN KNOW WAR AND ROSES
Silently,
We know our strength
Mysteriously,
We forget
We abide
We apologize
We are too much
We warn you
Keep us small
Keep us hidden
Keep us separate
Or else ...
Get close and our blood will stain your finger tips.
We teach
With death …
Life.
With pain …
Pleasure.
We ache to protect innocence.
We know the difference between what's real and reality.
We sense moments that don't want to be heard or seen, and numb our tongues in the name of peace and safety
Some days …
We blush.
It's beautiful
To be a woman,
To know beauty ...
We are in touch with every shade of it.
Ice, sweat, tears and tierras.
Beauty is not just powder pink.
It is sedimentary layers of life broken down into generations and restorations of gems kept, found, and passed on through dowries, and stories, in glorious complexity unravelled by genius.
That is what beauty is.
Grotesque labor distilling red pigment to paint simple sweet talk.
That is what beauty is.
I know she knows.
Her belly, her wrinkles, her warts and corse hairs
Exposed
She has held me and smiled.
She has wrapped me in soft cotton, loved me and sent me off into the world infused with magic, black and white.
She has told me without words ...
My purpose is to build a home for what is to come
To plant seeds in fertile soil, rich and facing the sun.
Where there is nothing good, she has told me ...
I exist to create.
We all do.
Destruction in our wake as we elevate all life.
My mother has taught me everything I know.
Forgive me, I drank her toxic milk, and my spirit knows war.
Her spirit knew it better.
She, however, was the one who taught me to hold hands and never let go of my girlfriends
Swinging and singing in harmony down the open road to dreams coming true.
She was the one who taught me to swim
Splashing and laughing …
While they march.
Sisters, we are water.
Powerful only in depth and unstoppable with collective force.
We are moving mountains and reshaping the face of the Earth.
It's true!
Let's put our hands to our hearts and melt the cold words we have spoken to one another.
Together …
We can no longer hide, abide, or be set aside.
Take pride.
Bring life.
Love ...
Beauty ...
Hope ...
Give and share all of what we know ourselves to be.
Bundles and bundles of roses
Stand strong.
They can't ignore the smell of truth.
Stand alone when we are torn apart
And know we are protected by thorns and by beauty.
Gripping the bars of faith and forgiveness
We serve our time.
Crying behind closed doors
Knocking them down
Conquering ignorance
Unarmed
Make them stop to take us in.
And, Dignity, she is there for you.
Violently, she can peel away thick skin, rip into righteousness, and scream until she is all that's left.
Tenderly, she can also kiss, encourage, and stay
Forever open, understanding and patient.
With love
No matter what
She lights up.
Pure light
It is there
In every living thing.
Greatness only takes a whisper to flower.
Together ...
Lest we forget.
~ S ~
