Touching Grass

Touch the grass of your trauma 
If it helps you remember why you moved on
But do not root there
There’s nothing but poison in that soil

-gws

What I’m Thinking

What I'm thinking is:

This is hard shit.  
That sometimes grabbing that fact by the throat and screaming in its face is necessary from time to time.  
Sometimes sitting in the shadow of that truth is required when our spirits are tired and our hearts so broken.  
And when we're done, we rest.  We breathe.  And we rise and fight some more.  
Because we're mothers.

-gws

Harvesting

I plunge my hands
Into the dark soil
To harvest the fruits
Of gratitude into the light
It is practical work
Grounding work
Spiritual work
To nourish my soul
Drawing upon the root work 
Already deeply planted
I turn my face to the sun

-gws

We Are the Bear

Birthing a new world is painful
Shifting a paradigm is tectonic

Daughters, 
We do not just choose The Bear
We are The Bear
We are the Wild Mother
We are gifted with the power of creation
We are skilled in navigating grief
We are aligned with the cycles of life

Daughters,
We are the builders of community
We are the storytellers
We are the lore keepers
We are the heart and the hearth
We are the fire keepers
We are the fire

It's time to build and burn 
In equal measure

-gws

Unmade

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

Smoldering

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

My Story To Tell

Speaking one’s truth is an act 
Of rebellion
Of reclaiming 
Of liberation  
It is stepping into the light 
After living in the dark for too long
It is my story to tell
And I will tell it as part of my healing

-gws

Rotten

I am, now, trying to forgive myself for the choices I made while trying to survive
For staying long past the expiration date in a relationship that had long been toxic and rotten
I deserved bette

-gws

Ordinary October Day

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

Broken Love

All of the anger
This hurt
This loss
This heartache 
Was once love

You handled it 
Roughly 
Carelessly 
Thoughtlessly 

You returned it to me
A broken toy
Remorseless
While crying insult
From my lack of gratitude 
At your “effort”

-gws