Today

Today

I nourish and I teach,
I clean and I cry,
I protect and I lead
I comfort and learn
I laugh and I push
I nurture and I provide
I pray and I yell
I create and I soothe
I pull and I fall
I rise and I endure

And it is tiring and tedious
And joyful and overwhelming
And challenging and rewarding
And lonely.

But I am not alone.
For within me I contain
the strength
Of my mother
And her mother
And her mother
And her mother
And the wisdom of a long line of
Mothers
Healers
Creators
Leaders
Extending all the way back to
She in who’s image I was made

And I have their love and their beauty
Their understanding and their power
Their courage and their brilliance
Within me
And around me
And it bolsters me
And inspires me
And guides me
And sustains me
And empowers me
Today.

by Natalie Mix

A girl with light brown hair faces her mother and grandmother, who are sitting on the floor. Each wears light wash jeans and a white button-up shirt. The mother and grandmother look lovingly at the child.