Women Who Dared, III

Anonymous Woman

(past-present-future)

Today I salute you, Ms. Anonymous. I honor you. I see you in all women, past, present, and future.

I see you: you who have worked, bled, suffered, thrilled, risen above, raised children, tended gardens, tended souls, prayed, rioted, talked, persuaded, cried, sweated, won, lost, survived. I see you: you who sacrifice, you who break down barriers, you who fulfill menial tasks so that others can move ahead. I see you: you who live lives of quiet desperation, who live lives of privilege, who live lives of poverty, who live lives of abuse, who live lives of happiness. I see you: you who go unseen and forgotten, you whose memories have been poisoned by others, you who have disappeared under regimes political and personal, you who others would seek to destroy. I see you: you who nurture, who build up, who connect, who cherish, who bring peace with your words, actions, and love. I see you: you who do the forgotten and disenfranchised work. I see you: you who do the important and historically significant work. I see you: in all your glorious varieties, ages, sizes, colors, races, backgrounds, histories, herstories.

I see you: you dare to exist.

I see you: you are me.