On Girlhood...

 

The Leopard Ladies

Everything great about me 

came from a woman

Pouring into me, 

shaping and correcting me

Collecting me from my cocooned

Bubble of safety

Encouraging me to fly, to try

Their kind words wash over me 

like warm water 

Salt of the earth, preserving me through the drought 

When I slip, inevitably 

into a pit of my own making

My best friend tells me

I have a beautiful mind

My sister practically reads mine

And all around me are women

old and new

Bursting with happiness 

The love between us sits

Somewhere in the divine

I wouldn't be who I am if I wasn't a daughter 

A sister, a teacher, and a friend.