I Am Woman Poem by Janice M Pickett

Tracing all those tears that have flowed
has taken years of searching and mind analysis
The times my father hit my mother
The times Mum just didn’t come home
for fear of another attack
The times I fell and grazed my knee
Tracing all those moments of fear in my life
has taken me back to memories
of darker places
To the darkness that brought with it
the boogie man
The fast rides in the car
that caused us to cling on tightly
ending up with white knuckles
and pins and needles in our hands
The terror of the teenage years
with all the hormones and strife
Boys that tried it on but failed
Boys that tried and reached first base.
and those that didn’t try at all.
Life had losses that would haunt me forever
the death of my first-born son
=The passing of my Grandmother the death of my Best friend
the death of the father of my first daughter.
With each new battle a challenge came forth
one that would teach me to understand life
to handle death and Loss
to deal with emotion good and bad
to blossom as a person and a spirit
I’m all grown up now and understand why
I understand the suffering
I understand what is required of me
and most of all through this wisdom
I understand how others feel.
For now I am a Mentor
a protector a listener
and a provider
for now I can truly say
I am Woman