Jeanette Amisi Mmunga:
when the world unravels before you and even your dreams are crumbling stones
when everything you dare to touch is set on fire and all around you is ash and smoke
Remember this:
Rock bottom is a perfect place for rebuilding
Remember that you are your mother’s daughter
your grandmother’s answered prayers
a whole bloodline of women who bend in response, the raging winds
there is nothing broken here
nothing damaged or discarded
each scar is a badge of honor
every misstep is a victory dance waiting to happen
you are a woman becoming
learning the complicate language of forgiveness
The intricate lessons of the universe,
and your heart is just a muscle
it needs exercise
and you were born for this sort of heavy lifting
you were born:
one part saint
one part warrior woman
Jeanette Mmunga
1.18.21