To the Woman Whose Light refuses to diminish…

written by Raven J. Poole

I have seen you, my sister, more than shadows, more than burdens.

You are the hue of dreams pressed against dawn, walking roads no one else dares to

tread, all while carrying history’s heaviest bags, yet somehow finding room for your own

hopes, and even the hopes of those who overlook you.

They try to paint you in silence but you, my sister, you are a symphony, every note is

magical to the resilience they cannot mute. They try to tell you to be small, to bow your

head, to bear the weight of their stories and to forget your own, but I see the mighty tree

you are, rooted and swaying, weathered yet unbroken.

I know what the world has tried to take, how they try to fold your brilliance into the

quietest whispers, how they try to cast you in the shadows and dare you to shine there,

but love, your light doesn’t need permission, it finds its way through the cracks. It climbs

walls that they try to hide you behind, it breaks itself open, and spills itself pure.

So, please lift your chin, my sister, my beautiful, unbreakable one. The world may yet

come to see you, but even if it stumbles and fails, know that you are a sunrise never-

ending, a song that night cannot silence. You are the heart of nations, the spirit of rivers

that refuse to run dry. If the world grows blind, know that I have seen you, in all your

magic and grace, a marvel, a power the world will forever be reaching to hold.

signing out,

abirdthatswims aka a woman whose light shines bright