To WOMAN.

To WOMAN.
To the ones who have come before us.
Our mothers, grandmothers, great grandmother’s and aunties.

For all the battles you’ve fought, all the injustices you’ve endured;
For giving us life and in that at times losing yours;
For feeding your children even when it meant starving yourself;
For creating home,
For always pointing us to a brighter day,
For persisting and overcoming,
For loving even through the darkest valleys:
We honor you today.

To those who run alongside us.

Our sisters by blood and by choice,
Our aunties and friends.

For believing in love,
Trying again and again,
Not giving up on humanity,
not giving up on hope.

For nurturing,
for loving,
for caring and fiercely protecting the people and things that you love.

For fighting injustice,
for marching loudly and resisting quietly.

For being yourselves when yourself doesn’t seem enough,
For empowering others and lifting them up.
For making the world a better place:
We honor you today.

To those who come after us.
Our daughters and nieces,
Our younger sisters in spirit and blood.
To my daughter not yet born and the one I know I will adopt:
You are beautiful inside and out.
You are strong, kind, capable and warm.
You are a fighter,
a winner,
a lover and a friend.

You can be whatever, whoever, you want to be and we will always have your back.

To the the girl and the woman of tomorrow:
We honor you today.

WOMAN
Nurturer, life-giver, queen, warrior, lover, friend, mother, sister, leader, servant...
Loud, quiet, warm, hard, soft, challenging, kind, simple, intelligent, brave, courageous, crazy, wild, silly, serious, fun...
We are all that and so much more;
I honor us today.