Peri and I received this from our dear friend Liz Davis. The poem speaks of silence from a different angle. Her own experience of this poem is candid, wise and beautiful.
With love, in a time that asks for all our love,
Barbara and Peri
I have been a thousand different women
make peace
with all the women
you once were.
lay flowers
at their feet.
offer them incense
and honey
and forgiveness.
honor them
and give them
your silence.
listen.
bless them
and let them be.
for they are the bones
of the temple
you sit in now.
for they are
the rivers of wisdom
leading you toward
the sea.
~ emory hall
When I found this poem, randomly scrolling through social media, I felt an immediate appreciation for the truth of these words. As I move into my 60’s, I feel very aware of “becoming” myself in ways that are very, very different than the woman – women – that I have been in earlier incarnations.
I once was a tomboy who climbed trees fearlessly and daydreamed of great adventures. I once was a bookworm who found heroines in history. More than once I moved to new places to change myself and my worldviews. I once was a powerful sexual being searching for relationships to satisfy my longings. I once had a career and money and a title that made me feel useful and appreciated. All these and many others left their wisdom in each successive iteration of myself.
And now, who am I becoming now? I am listening, I am grieving losses in myself, I am letting go of disappointments and regrets, I am shedding old patterns of expectations and ego, I am redefining what beauty means and what it feels like, and I am living into the open space of being here now. I am listening.
Yes, blessings to my women, I love each one of you.
Liz Davis