"I could be a woman from any place"

[I have been working on this poem for about a month. Writing this poem, I feel .. expansive; I love poems that come with rhythm in them.]

one foot then the other steps out onto the riverbed floor

it is early and the fishermen are packing their bread and fruit lunches for the coming day

dawn’s light warms the cold night air as another morning approaches:

I have come to greet the day

to herald the blessings that might come today

feluccas on the horizon

I am here to say Yes

I could be a woman from any place

letting my hair down after the 9 to 5

spending one precious hour with the book I’ve been putting off

with the ending I need to have

before turning out the lights in a familiar bed

I could be a woman from any place

I could be a grandmother baking bread

welcoming in my young granddaughters for Earl grey tea after picking apples in the garden

listening to their stories about school as we visit by the fireplace

setting the table for dinner as the bread comes out of the oven

I could be a woman from any place

I could be a mother baking sugar cookies with my daughters as it snows outside

as the frost clings to the front window

dancing to Greek music, rock music, or classical music

as we wait for spring to come

I could be a woman from any place

selling fabrics in the Cairo street market;

visiting with the elderly in a Calgary nursing home;

drinking tea in a shop off of Kensington, catching up with friends;

strength through our trials

commitment through our trials – to Love others as we would like to be loved,

to give of ourselves for the education, knowledge, or health of others

I could be a woman from any place

but I am from this country, my country,

I will use my hands to lift up those who need shelter

I will use my history, and the history of the women before me,

to restore people to their former light


[My uncle's note: *remind people of the point at which a spark changed their journey, and not the point at which the flame burned out]