God made me to be a fortress, standing tall against those who cling to their right to stare as I walk past. Those who cling to their right to twist my name in their mouths; those who cling to their right to assert their entitlement; their right to scare the opposite sex into submission.
God made me to be outer space; my veins connect like constellations. My heart glows like the brightest star in the sky; watch how men with rock hard heads reflect me. I have been told I am an empty expanse, with nothing certain to stabilize a man; I have been told I am too easy to get lost in; I have been told that I lack gravity. Men forget, too quickly, that the rings of Saturn rest on my hips. I contain galaxies.
God made me to be a garden. Do not confuse the brown of my skin for fertile soil for you to rest in. I am reserved for gentle hands willing to toil, in the pouring rain and in the blazing sun. I do not bloom for just anyone.
God made me Woman. An individual. A compilation of stories, waiting to be told. A fountain of compassion and love.
The next time you think I am a body, the next time you think my identity begins and ends as a daughter, or a sister, or your future wife-- know I am a monument of purpose.
Know, I am a child of God.
God made me Woman. I am a lullaby in a minor key; I am the light that wakes you up each morning and the dark that puts you to sleep; I am an expanse of ocean, with depths that no one but my Heavenly Father has ever seen. I am the voice that speaks when all others are silent.
I am a monument of purpose. Of destiny. Of possibility. I am not the voice of the future, I am the voice of today. The voice of impatience, of restless ambition, of knowing I have been silent for long enough. Of knowing, God did not create me for tomorrow, or yesterday-- God made me for right now.
God made me Woman. God made me to reclaim my time, to fight for what I know is right. To stand tall against oppression and injustice. To overflow with empathy and compassion.
I am Woman. Thank God, I am Woman.
Written By: Anna Gayle