Dear Granddaughters
Dear Granddaughters,
The only constant we consistently count on is change
Life is like a topographical map
On the surface the ups and downs seem smooth
But when your soul walks the uphills they bend and curve
Until you cannot tell when you're going up and
When you're going down
All you know is that it's always changing
Shifting
One day, you will sit at my feet
Run a finger from elbow to hand and
Marvel
At my ups and downs
You will wonder how I was on an uphill for years
And in downhills for decades
But I will remind you of the secret of the life
That I hold in my skin's experiences
That the uphills did not always feel like master highs
That the uphills were a grueling series of one foot after another
Till I finally felt that fabulous wind at the top
That nothing beat the whisper of the wind in the coolness of the shadows at the bottom
As I reached for another uphill
Know that when you crowd around my chair to hear the stories of my century
I will be on my very favorite uphill
The one where I get to greet the hikers below me
The one where I greet you
To tell you of all the wisdom I have gathered in my life
Granddaughters, listen to my wisdom
There will be people who call you object
Sugar and star, stumbling block and tool, tape or matches or flower whose lost too many petals
But I am here to tell you you are none of those things
You, my granddaughters, are human
First and foremost
You are not girlfriend, or wife, or daughter, or mother,
You are always yourselves before you are any use someone can find for you.
You are a complete, logical being,
Never an object, nor a playhting
Your vocal chords will ring and move mountains
You will be told to sit down and shut up
I am telling you now to fight
You are a human
So fight anyone who dares tell you differently
I have fought many uphills just so I can show you the path I took,
So you can carve new paths for your granddaughters
So when you place a small finger on my scars
When you ask did it hurt
I will smile, Resting on top of my mountain,
And say
Of course it did
But it added to my map, and one day,
You will have your own map
One to show your granddaughters.