Poetry Month Day #13: “Possibilities” Poem

Happy Day #13 of National Poetry Month!

Today’s poem is entitled “Possibilities.” It is inspired by three things.

1) A wisdom quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

2) My memory of seeing Hillary Clinton give her “women’s rights are human rights” speech at the UN Fourth World Conference in Beijing, China in 1995.

3) Hillary Clinton’s announcement that she is running for President of the United States yesterday.

Possibilities

Each woman who came before me dreamed of something better.
They are my champions.
Their dreams and sacrifices are my possibilities.
They sacrificed with faith and without even knowing what better would mean.
Their sacrifice created freedom to define myself for myself just as Mama Audre Lorde instructed.
Their legacy of walking with faith fuels my choices to express my freedom when I doubt myself, fear sets in, and I think I cannot do what I dream of doing.
Their ancestral spirits cheer me on as I choose to do the things I think I cannot do.
Their love helps me manifest possibilities into realities.
And for this I bow my head in gratitude, give thanks, and say Amen.