"I am deliberate and afraid of nothing."

-Audre Lorde

Today, I take a pause, to celebrate the women I know, have known, and will know, who have suffered, risen, and moved forward, once more. I salute your greatness and enshrine your legacies.

India Arie - Beautiful Flower

‎This is a song for every girl who's 

Ever been through something she thought she couldn't make it through
I sing these words because
I was that girl too
Wanting something better than this
But who do I turn to

Now we're moving from the darkness into the light
This is the defining moment of our lives

'Cause you're beautiful like a flower
More valuable than a diamond
You are powerful like a fire
You can heal the world with your mind

There is nothing in the world that you cannot do
When you believe in you, who are beautiful
Yeah, you, who are brilliant
Yeah, you, who are powerful
Yeah, you, who are resilient

This is a song for every girl who
Feels like she is not special
'Cause she don't look like a supermodel Coke bottle
The next time the radio tells you to shake your moneymaker
Shake your head and tell them, tell them you're a leader

Now we're moving from the darkness into the light
This is the defining moment of our lives

It's Women's Month, once more

So let me share with you a list of the women I stalk online, just because they remind me that a woman with a mind of her own is a wonderful woman to be:

Daphne Osena-Paez
Katrina Stuart Santiago
Jessica Zafra
Conchitina Cruz
Anne Boyer
Mary Anne Moll
The Cat with the Fiddle
Lea Salonga
Chella Courington

Go and get yourself a haircut, a hot-oil treatment, a pedicure, a Starbucks, a new pair of shoes, a hug from your kids, a look of tenderness from your man, a high-five from your boss, smiles from your fans, er, friends! You deserve to be adored!
=)

As always, my dears, let's all fly high, for we are women!

As a tot she was
Surrounded by fishbowl silence
She had no horns
No wings, no tail
Just a smile nobody
Noticed while adults
Talked at mealtime.
She did not ask
What worth she had--
Who am it or
What is I.
When guests arrived
She gulped down food
Slipped out of her chair
And floated into her room
Like a bubble and
Burst behind closed doors.

Now she's an actress
In search of a script.
Sometimes she freaks out
Tired of her horns
Wings, tail, tired
Of bowing, smiling
For no one. Guests come
And do not wonder
Who she is or
Is she an it
A doormat, an empty chair
A wallflower or decor.
She still remembers to
Sneak out like a bubble
Float into her room and
Burst behind closed doors.
She is protected
By her fishbowl silence.

-"Wife" by Marra PL. Lanot-

Almost March

I departed from my usual greens-and-wheat bread-and-proteins diet today. Ate lasagna (I had one plate and finished the portion my son had left uneaten) and a few spoonfuls of some rich, sinful chocolate cake from Starbucks. Ugh.

Ah, Sundays. They make one forget.

Anyway, what I really wanted to say is that tomorrow marks the beginning of women's month.

M-- here says it's ridiculous that only one month should be alloted to celebrating woman's greatness--an entire argument that would be quite interesting to pursue, but I'm too tired and I have to haul my a__ off to work later.

Round about the same time last year, I wrote this. It's leaning towards the corny side, and kinda overstated, besides, but there you have it, my angry stance at making sure that woman is given her proper place in this world.

Fly high, my girls! We are beautiful!
=)