Womanhood
a woman in a hood
to let the hood down
let it out
breathe deeply
work
and love myself
those around me
my close and extended family
and also those I do not know

to oscillate in the wind
landing on a leaf
feeling that tomorrow may
or may not happen
but my shining self is in me
not that part that needs to say… to know
the part that knows how to laugh
that can spin on the curve of a hip
and write a story in the sand
in the eyes of a child
or a toothless grin

on what I am drawn to
writing, cooking, painting, the whole lot
and then realizing the important thing
is to be honest, to be true

to be able to look myself in in the mirror
and know I’ve tried
hard but also known how to let go
to flow with the tide and sing in the moonlight

selah, I am a ladle of sweet water
a woman, a girl
I may never be a mother
yet I hold this life
between my fingers
between my thighs
in my head
along my feet
sweet is the smell of dawn
long is the velvet night
I sigh in the silence
for more to come