Woman, I Love You

An International Women’s Day Reflection

I see you everyday, feel you everyday, know you everyday

You are around me, even when you are nowhere to be seen

Because you are woman and you emanate, fascinate, radiate

Beyond walls and ceilings and invisible barriers, omnipresent

I’m mad for your peculiar smile, those uneven teeth that make you crazy beautiful

For your unpredictable fury, when someone has wronged someone that you love

I adore you for the awkward way you slither into the room, ethereal and trying to avoid attention

For your vivaciousness that abounds, every vertebra expanded when anyone tries to shut you up

I crush on your stride when you crash that boardroom; thick thighs, powerful eyes, they all rise

And I worship every ounce of your being, as you roll your cart of products in to clean that same boardroom each night

How incredibly exquisite you are woman, your eyes locking her eyes in a love no one could ever comprehend

My heart pounds when your crippled hands clip your endless threads of silver into that loose bun atop your head

I’m secretly holding you and trying to transmit warmth as you slip that colourful beanie from your crown after another tired treatment

Your strength to walk in the door each day and give your best, dark eyes cried out yet you remain steady, sturdy, unwilling to fall

I am in awe that you took the chance my sister, took a risk, took your future by storm and earned mad success

And I’m grateful to you, for never letting it go to your head and instead, for choosing to bring others along with you

I’m blown away that you let nothing stop you, even after everything, you taunt life back, relentless, resilient, and potent

The way he strokes your cheekbone and kisses your hand in the quiet corner of the cafe at mid-day; he knows you are a gift, woman, just as I do

I warmly giggle to myself enjoying your spidery eyes, wide with wonder, pearls in oysters in the sea of possibility

Your skin is worn, stretches of highways across your tired face, a weathered map of a lifetime, simply majestic

I await the sound of your voice, because it brings light and hope and melody in a world that feels out of tune

I’m head over heels watching you unapologetic and unwilling to be anything but your raw and perfect self

Sitting in the club, I see you walk in alone, full bodied, dimpled and busting out of your Friday night dress

And your confidence is bigger than all the stars combined because this is your room and you darling woman are owning it

My heart shatters a thousand shards of glass when you keep going back, blue and black, but I get it, I get you, I got you

You stand up defiant, only to get knocked down once again, your greatness unbeknownst for another gut-wrenching day

Butterflies in my stomach when your cheeks, round like sweet market plums in the August sun build in your smile

And I’m reminded that I was once you, someone else’s hope for the future as you are mine

Centre-stage, I’m amazed, electrified at the circuit board of your brain as you wow that conference crowd

All the while, the water is poured, the plates cleared, dessert served by the tired mother of three fighting to stay housed

I’m melting, watching from across the park as you comb your father’s fine hair, giving him his daily dose of loving care, fresh air, his empty stare

I praise you, unleashed; the lion in you ferocious, fighting for every one of us, every single day

I’m loving you woman, and you woman, and you woman because you are all diamonds and dust all at once.

I love you, woman because you are multi-dimensional perfection

Of all women, a reflection

Of this woman, a connection