have you ever
stopped to notice
how much strength
your mother carries
in her womb
and in her eyes

or how girls can give
their hearts whole
without blinking

or how the women
in your life
have been torn apart
by the men they wake
up next to

I have seen bloodshed
and it is not on her skin-
it is when you turned her
inside out
and asked her why
she is still here

as if the sickness
as if the disease
as if the stone
in your body
can be erased
with her unconditional love

She sits
Atop a myrtle bush
Wingless
She cannot fly
But sends out her desire
Her future dreams
Through the unsuspecting air
Her belief
In distant generations
Borne upon the breeze
Hope of the unseen
Messaged across the barren lands
And am I powerless?

Sometimes the truth
is like holding
a smoldering flame
in your cupped hands

where if you do not
throw the flame
then it will burn
you alive.