to the Women…
may 10, 2026
I do a lot of mental grappling when I write because, as Toni Cade Bambara wrote, “Words set things in motion. […] Words set up atmospheres, electrical fields, charges.”
[mental grappling: the act of struggling with difficult thoughts, emotions, complex problems, or intense moral dilemmas]
More now than ever before, I am careful with what I set down on the page, what I place and allow within my mind, what I am giving thought, time, space and attention and how these thoughts, and these times are shaping and changing me.
I am careful with what words I put out into the world.
I originally shared this piece/peace on March 8, 2024 also known as International Women’s Day, in the u.s., and also Judy’s (Mom/Iya) birthday. I come back to this piece often.
Today, “Mother’s Day” 2026, I am grappling with what words I share out into a world because this day carries so much weight – joy, and grief, celebration, and heartache.
I have been raised by so many women, my Mother, my Sister, Aunties, teachers, mentors, friends, women in the work place, community elders, Mother Nature, and the list can go on.
This piece was written in honor of women, Mothers, and others.
This peace was written in honor of the women who raise us.
This piece was written for women I know, and women whom I do not know, and I share it again as a reminder, to myself and others that “Mother” and “Mothering” takes on many shapes and forms.
Because of my Mother, and her raising, I celebrate them all.
Although there is an end to the words written here, the gratitude is endless.
I invite anyone listening, or reading, to add to this peace, and share your own words, and offerings of gratitude.
“To the women who find us, seek us, and see us, when no one else is looking,
To the women who use their voices, even as long reaching arms, pockets, and hands of oppressive systems try to quiet and silence them,
To the women who speak words, sing songs, write lines, brush strokes, craft stories, develop pictures, mold earth, reshape language, and serenade us with melodies so we can feel and transcribe emotions too big, too deep, too painful, too rage filled, for others to conceive of, hold or understand,
To the women whose presence allows us to breathe, and open our eyes, lift veils, and see through lies,
To the women who resurrect silenced and buried truths, giving them wings so we can thrive,
To the women who have risked their lives, setting their own privileges and freedoms on the line for the sake of another’s present and future freedoms, and life,
To the women who create space, and take their time, to teach us, show us, hold us, feed, nurture, and love us,
To the women who, even when out of reach, keep in touch;
the women whose prayers we have entered;
the women whose hopes and dreams we are centered within,
To the women whose gazes cover us, whose arms embrace us, whose weight anchors us,
To the women whose hearts hold our hands;
the women whose care is a safe haven;
the women whose tears take us somewhere,
To the women whose work within their lifetimes has left us with legacies and eternal life lines,
To the women whose fight for freedoms have released us, relieve us, and make a way for us to build tables where our seats have already been bought, paid for and prepared for us,
To the women who delight in us;
the women who find joy in us;
the women who remind us that joy is us,
To the women whose wounds and scars act as doorways for us to dance, sashay and sway our ways through, and open up the skies for us to see and reach to,
To the women whose reach back has provided ways forward;
the women burning bridges for the sake of creating paths;
the women who take up space so that room is made for others to sit, stand, and stay,
To the women who amplify us when others are hellbent on weakening, diminishing, and erasing us,
To the women whose efforts and contributions have been left out of headlines, acknowledgements, credits, and his-stories,
To the women whose present and future visions are too big for small minds,
To the women who carry us within the reflections of their own eyes,
To every woman, seen, and unseen, heard, unheard, ignored and silenced, forgotten, known, and unknown,
You are seen, you are cherished, you are essential, and you are precious, and this gratitude is written out in honor, and celebration of you.”
