Poetry by Sister Elizabeth Fiorite
Your ancestors are women of compassion
and courage, defying convention.
Your ancestors are the women who have gone before you,
women of uncommon courage,
of unwavering faith and vision.
They are the women of our time, the ones
who proved themselves in spite of obstacles.
You feel the strength of their spirit
in the beating of your hearts.
Listen!
Sophia speaks to her daughters:
You are descendants of star dust and rain drops,
of mountain tops and the ocean’s depths.
You are one with the blue heron and the butterfly,
the white whale and the bumble bee.
Your ancestors are teh women who kept secrets,
who controlled thier destiny,
who changed the course of history
for those who came after them.
Your laughing eyes, your graceful limbs,
your full breasts and rounded hips,
are nothing compared to your nimble mind,
your spirit of freedom and adventure, your thirst for justice,
your desire for love and fulfillment.
These gifts are your treasures, your legacy, your heritage.
As the barren desert brings forth flowering plants,
as the soaring eagle nests in rocky clefts,
so you must cling fast to your inheritance
that you and the daughters who succeed you will thrive!
