To the women who made me

To women who lift me up

To the women who inspire, and teach, and persevere

To the women who collect my tears

To the women whose souls I love

To the women who grieve and give

To the women whose blueprints I follow

To the women whose memories are my ritual

To the women whose rituals are my memories

To the women who dance, and sing, and celebrate with me

To the women who love my children as their own

To the women whose recipes I make

To the women who teach me to defend myself to myself

To the women who are brave enough to carve beauty from imperfection

And wise enough to know that’s where they’re found

To these incredible women, who daily serve kindnesses, beautiful branches

I choose you all. Every day. And carry you always, I love you.

5 Responses

  1. Wow! Talk about International Woman’s Day. For you, it’s every day. What a beautiful slice of your life.

  2. Nawal,
    I just needed to copy these golden lines here so I could read them again…

    "To the women whose memories are my ritual
    To the women whose rituals are my memories"
    and
    "To the women who are brave enough to carve beauty from imperfection
    And wise enough to know that’s where they’re found"

    These thought about the women in your life are inspiring and beautiful. Wow! Well-written from the heart.

  3. Two favorite lines – "To the women whose blueprints I follow" and "To the women who teach me to defend myself to myself". Such powerful ideas! And everything we should be looking for in finding a mentor and a friend.

  4. The women in all our lives are beautiful indeed. They deserve a whole lifetime dedicated to them. Or maybe they don’t. Maybe they’re so happy being who they are just the way they are, they don’t crave the dedication even. I’m inspired to dedicate some lines to the women in my life too!