WHEN WOMEN HAD WINGS

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I am daughter of Renee,

who is daughter of Florence,

who is daughter of Julia

of County Cork.

I come from a line

of strong-spirited women.

Far back, in the time 

when women had wings,

my foremothers flew.

They sat in council, governing,

around the communal fire.

Their eyes flashed; their utterances

were wise, and respected.

In those times, the waters ran clear,

and the land was bountiful.

In the crooning of the wind,

I hear the names this life has given me:

Walks Far Woman,

Woman Who Talks to Trees,

In Love With the Sea Woman and

Daughter of the Sky.

Part of me has not yet

fully landed in this place.

My DNA still remembers we come from

particles of stars.

My collective memory recalls those times,

when women had wings,

and my foremothers flew,

when living with the land

is what we knew.

One from 2014 for the Poetry Pantry at Poets United. My title was inspired by the title of the movie based on the book by Connie May Fowler, Before Women Had Wings. I decided to explore a time when they did.