
I cannot be a human today
Let alone a woman
I am a raw exposed wound
Showered in salty
Reminders of the abuses
We have already endured
And I am unmade
-gws

I cannot be a human today
Let alone a woman
I am a raw exposed wound
Showered in salty
Reminders of the abuses
We have already endured
And I am unmade
-gws

I still hold the smallest flickering flame of hope
Smoldering painfully in my belly
I keep trying to stomp it out
Smother it
But it persists
Despite the obvious futility of its existence
It will not listen to reason
Will not extinguish beneath showers of bitter tears
I must endure it
Ignore it
Until it gutters and dies on its own
-gws

On this ordinary October day
I did my part to change the world
In a most extraordinary way
I voted
For who I hope will be
Our first woman president
With proud ancestors at my back
My children’s future cast before me
I released my grain of sand into the glass
To do my small part to move us forward
Towards a future the mothers preceding me
Could only hope to dream of
For their progeny
-gws

Oh, how the tears fall
In the darkest of night
When hope has left us
With the dying of the light
The grief and the shame
Consume all they might
When hope has left us
With the dying of the light
Hold on to my hand
Grasp on to it tight
When hope has left us
With the dying of the light
It is anguish that grips us
With its devastating blight
When hope has left us
With the dying of the light
Remember, when dawn comes
How we survived this rite
When hope had left us
With the dying of the light
-gws

Grief is an unwelcome friend
Yet she calls just the same
She sits down right beside me
As she gently speaks my name
She offers me her open hand
Even though I flinch away
Grief’s lived this scene so many times
She knows that she must stay
I beg and plead for her to go
I do not want her here
Yet Grief still sits right by my side
And whispers in my ear
She tells the story of love and loss
Of memories most dear
Until I finally understand
Why Grief is sitting here
Grief comes when something dear is lost
With a simple job to do
Her company is but the cost
Of loving something true
So turn her not away, good friends
Though welcome she’ll not be
Grief reminds us how we’ve loved
With the gift of memories
-gws

Before I enter my “Healed Woman” era
I must detour into my “Villain” era
You see…
I was cast in the villain role for so long
I might as well embrace the casting for a term
With that said…
Do not be concerned at my black wardrobe
My blood red lips
Do not pay mind to my near silent mumbling
As I light candles and cast salt about
Fret not over my narrowed, focused eyes
Rimmed in thick black liner
As I observe and calculate my options
Do not wonder about the herb-coated offerings
Laid out beneath the full moon
None of it is your concern
Cross the street
Avert your gaze
Do not trouble yourself wondering in my direction
I’m embracing my dark side
Doing my shadow work
If my shadow is meant to fall upon you
You will know
-gws

Trying to figure out
who this version of me is
She feels like a stranger,
but I think I might end up
liking her
-gws

You burned every bridge
then burnt your home to ashes
Now you wonder why you stand
naked and alone in the ruins
-gws

When you came into my life
You promised to be my everything
You destroyed everything instead
My hopes
My dreams
My confidence
My joy
My ability to love you
My ability to love me
So I made sure to take everything
When I left
-gws

I would send you a bouquet
Of newly sharpened pencils
If it would inspire you to
Write a different ending
Draw a greener pasture
Dream in color again
-gws