The Empowered Woman

The Empowered Woman, she moves through the world
with a sense of confidence and grace.
Her once reckless spirit now tempered by wisdom.
Quietly, yet firmly, she speaks her truth without doubt or hesitation and the life she leads is of her own creation. She now understands what it means to live and let live. How much to ask for herself and how much to give. She has a strong, yet generous heart and the inner beauty she emanates truly sets her apart.
Like the mythical Phoenix, she has risen from the ashes and soared to a new plane of existence,
unfettered by the things that once that posed such resistance.
Her senses now heightened, she sees everything so clearly.
She hears the wind rustling through the trees;
beckoning her to live the dreams she holds so dearly.
She feels the softness of her hands
and muses at the strength that they possess.
Her needs and desires she has learned to express.
She has tasted the bitter and savored the sweet fruits of life, overcome adversity and pushed past heartache and strife.
And the one thing she never understood,
she now knows to be true,
it all begins and ends with you.

– Sonny Carroll
 
*

Today I Have Decided to Fall in Love with Me

Today I have decided

To fall in love with me.

I had to give it a shot

Just had to see.

It started off easy,

And felt oh so right.

All of a sudden

I became a Queen.

What a sight!

I didn’t care what he thought,

She said,

Or they did.

I was unstoppable.

Dreaming the impossible

Just like a little kid.

But wouldn’t you know,

I fell.

And, boy, did I yell.

With bruises along the way,

I’d be lying if I didn’t say

That I wanted to give up.

But somehow convinced myself to stay.

I just had to do it.

This had to be the day.

Yet, I persisted to cut myself

With self-doubt and critical words.

To the point where I wanted to fly away,

Far and fast like a flock of birds.

I knocked down my self-esteem

And in pain and anguish,

I fell to my knees.

But like a cat with 9 lives,

I got back up again.

Hoping to finally become

My own best friend.

I’ve gotten through the hard part,

Just like I knew I would.

I never knew loving me

Could ever feel this good.

So take my advice

And take a chance on you.

It is by far the smartest thing

You could ever do.

Now when I look in the mirror

All that I see,

Is the love of my life

Smiling back with glee.

And this story ends

Where it all begins,

Because today I have decided

To fall in love with me.

– Destiny Love Mitchell

***

The Queen welcomes questions concerning all issues of interest to women in their mature years. Send your inquiries to thequeenofmyself@aol.com.