It was the stories that awoke me –
Stories of love and self-discovery
Stories of vibrancy and life.

I listen and within me
Stirs the part of me that is story, but not my story
Our story
That of woman, women, flesh and blood,
Spirit trapped but not without certainty of coming freedom.

In the ensuing stillness
Heart cries, “Breathe!”
Soul whispers, “Drink.”
Spirit commands, “Shine.”

I am not a story alone,
But tied to all the stories that were and are and soon will be.
It makes me stronger, wiser,
More able to be that which is within me.

I find I am alive.