Today I bow to all women

[Luna Arjuna]

Today I bow to all women
who have endured
oppression, silencing, abuse, rape.

Today I bow to all women
who have made any steps
in their lifetime toward finding their voice, their truth, their heart, their power, in spite of it all.

Today I bow
to the long line of women who were forced into tight spaces, whose breath was chained,
whose voice was snuffed out,
whose light was dimmed,
and I also bow
to the mounting charge of frustrated energy
in the spirit
that came from all this
that is ready now
to roar out now like never before.

Today I bow to the women
whose song was laughed at,
whose beauty was mocked or objectified,
whose bodies were harassed and scorned,
whose dance was slandered and shunned,
whose essence was shamed.

Today I bow to the women
who were burned
who were demonized
who were turned into witches because men
couldn't bear their own magic.

Today I bow to the power and wisdom
that has ALWAY lived and breathed
and sung and roared and howled and abided
within woman,
simply because that
is the birthright of women.

Today I bow
to the painful myths so many women
had to live in and still live in.
About how we need to tiptoe
around fragilities of men,
that we need to keep our light at bay,
keep our beauty veiled,
about how we need to put a cap
on our truth,
about how our insight and glorious ability to feel
is too much.

Today I bow
to the resilience of the female spirit.
At how exceptionally strong this spirit is
about how true power and wisdom
cannot be silenced
about how true beauty prevails.

Today I bow
to the beginning of the end
of too muchness
to the end of conditions
around our worthiness
to the end of needing
to change and harden
the softness in our bodies and spirits
to the end of pleasing men
through marginalizing our great truth.
Today I bow to the emerging feminine spirit
that is taking over the world
of our hearts
with a new loving inclusivity
with the widest embrace
ever seen.

Well done, sisters. I honor you, I honor me, I honor us from my deepest heart. Now let's get on with unlocking our inner flame and setting this world on fire!

  Chelan Harkin