Dear Woman

She looks at herself in the mirror,

Wondering just when she lost her beauty when she gave up on herself.

She looks at herself and realizes the glow she once had was long gone, the spark in her eyes lost.

She sees how frail her hands are, the wrinkles that are slowly but surely settling in.

She turns back and sees the scars that cover her back. Scars that were as a result of pain inflicted by the one who claimed he loved her. Maybe we need to find the real meaning of love or did it change and we never got the memo.

She remembers the choice she made wishing she could turn back. She has already formed a jury that has condemned her for life.

She feels her breathe though not as before but it wakes within her the dreams she had.

Dear Woman, this world is for you to conquer. You may be down but not done.

I know there are tears that you have cried for years. You remember the unkept promises, the lies shared and the truth untold. 

You are thinking of the times you have had to fake a smile to avoid the questions of, 'what is happening to you?' without getting help.

I know the times you have had to fake a stomachache so that your children would feed on the last meal.

Dear Woman, I know you have had to endure beatings every day because you were not sure of what people would say but then again abuse had been normalized and that felt okay.

I know of the pain of walking for hours in search of a job and how you had to put aside your pride and degree to do 'odd jobs' to put food on the table.

There are days you had to fight for your space in a masculine world that had looked down on you.

Lest I forget, there were days you barely slept because you had to submit assignments and had a 3month old baby to breastfeed. The assignments could drain you. But, you passed with distinctions. You are such an iron lady.

Oh, woman, you have gone through life's terrain, those that could assist and push you to your next level were just wolves in the making. It was conditional help yet they pledged in public how they would help unconditionally.

But dear woman, it is the experience that shaped you. 

Fighting for the spaces that you deserve even when others did not feel so.

Woman, stop downplaying your life. Rise. 

Through it all you have conquered, conquering and you will conquer. 

Now, look at yourself, dry away those tears, embrace the scars, they are just but a reminder of what you have overcome.

Fight for those spaces.

Do not settle for less. If respect is not served at your table then leave.

Allow lessons from yesterday's experiences to guide you, enjoy the gift of today, and plan for tomorrow. Look back and see where you have come from and look to the future and see the world you need to conquer. Then, begin taking steps towards the price.

Dear woman, you are worth more than you think, more than your conditions and circumstances, struggles and pain.

If you can be patient with others, be nice to yourself. You are doing a great job picking up yourself.

There is so much in you that needs to be tapped into.

Love yourself, take care of yourself. 

When you look at yourself in the mirror, speak to the beautiful girl that you see, yes beautiful with wrinkles on the face or not, fallen soldiers or not, curvaceous or otherwise. That girl cannot continue to be despised, she needs to be up. She deserves to see, experience, live, love, and be loved by the best. 

Do not feel you are too old or too young, dear woman, you can still glow and grow, speak life.