You don’t know this
But if there is a warrior
That warrior is you
If anyone blazes the way and holds the torch for the light to get through
That woman is you
Because you feel the fear and do it anyway
You set fire to yourself and offer your ashes to the Phoenix
You are unstoppable even as they come at you with everything and more
You’re the wind in the willows, the avalanche, the fucking heartbeat of ten thousand voices
You are Boudicca
Riding your chariot through the Roman siege
You are the woman in ten-year old sweat pants making me laugh until I weeze
Who can smell an idea and rip the world in half with your passion
And when you think you’re just some old bird biding her days
We’re here to remind you of the shine you’ve bequeathed so many
Before you, those things weren’t the same
They were easily passed by, easily put aside
And you said, hell no, and picked them up and gave them value
You galvanized the lost and herded them into something strong
We exist as we do BECAUSE OF YOU
You mock yourself because it’s what you know, but if you could see
The places you touch with your dreams and how they leave us
Better than we were
You’d be finally proud of your legacy thus far
And damn if nothing will ever stop you
Because if it hasn’t by now, then nothing will
Even on your dark days remember, you lit the way girl, it was you
It was you we owe so much to
And you who conjured the dawn.
For Christine E. Ray on her last day at SD and the first day of the rest of her life. We love you woman.