Grateful Woman

~Deana J. Tavares
(Tribute to my We Did It For You theater troupe-& The women who have paved the way)

I’m grateful, for you

The roads

That were paved

I have strolled

Along too

I’m grateful, for you

I wear combat boots

Pants as I please

A low dipping shirt

Or skirt

That stops

At my knees

As feminine as I wish

Unleashing

My masculinity

Not buttoned

Or tied up

With corsets

I’m

Free

You shouted

In darkness

Protested

In cold

Never quieted

Your voices

When your children

Were sold

Beaten and battered

Bloodied and bruised

Pushed through

The darkness

Changed

All the rules

Your light

Gave us power

The hardest granite

We’ll blast through

Excavate hope

Tread soil paths

To our

Truths

I learned

From your lessons

Heeded

Your words

My wingspan is wide

I too, can fly

Like those birds

I’ll carry the seeds

That you planted

Disperse them

Throughout my days

Repave the paths

Shining spot lights

That ripple

Within

Their waves

   © 2019

To learn more about the We Did It For You musical and the women who have paved the way go to: wediditforyou.org