Herstory

I am the sum of my parts,made from the women who came before me.

The goddesses of mundane things,

Of quiet bravery you most likely missed,

if you glanced elsewhere.

I am a woman who’s heart remained shuttered, 

who taught children but had none of her own,

who gave up the promise of wife and mother, 

so her younger siblings could be educated.

I wonder if she was happy. 

I wonder what she would think of me.

I am 4 schoolteachers and a nurse 

who left home at a young age and worked the night shift and loved a man,

she knew she shouldn’t.

She had strong hands and a soft heart. 

I am a woman who started anew,

7,800 miles away from everything she had ever known.

Who is the most beautiful woman in the world,

because she loves,

because ” mother”is written into her skin, woven into her hair. 

I am a 16 year old with wisdom beyond her years,

and eyes colored by inheritance. 

I am the sum of my parts,
and it is the most important thing about me.