Woman

I am more than a small waistline and an hourglass figure

I am powerful and wise

I am they that gave birth to a thousand generations

And forged the way for others like me to be free of oppression

I am many lifetimes of wisdom

I am they that fought a war few cared about but many saw

I am the gentle breeze and the howling wind

I am ferocious and beautiful

A painting of many colors and a stronghold for the weak

I am every color of the rainbow and every flavor of ice cream

I am kissed by the sun and hugged by the moon

I am chaos and peace and everything in between

I am a message, a warning,

I am not to be abused and manhandled

I am to be loved and respected

I will not be forced into the quiet mold of a biased society

This isn’t a man’s world

It’s mine

I am the working woman, the toiling woman

The bend-over-backwards-for-her-children woman

But I am not the stay-at-home mother

I am not the submissive housewife

Cooking-all-day-behind-a-white-picket-fence woman

I am street smart and body smart

Cultivating a world for those like me, after me

I am a mix of races and cultures

And as Staceyann Chin said

I come in too many flavors for one simple spoon

I am woman