My Two Cents

I am so blessed to have innumerable women heroes in my life. This month, I honor my sister Onorine who sacrificed her life to pay my high school tuition. I honor my Aunts Antonia and Godelive who were rejected by their own paternal family for being girls but chose love over hatred and resentment. They built for me an oasis of peace and rest; a place to sit, invigorate and recharge my battery to continue my life’s journey through the desert.
And with every bit of my heart, I humbly say “thank you” to all women, all around the world, still living and already departed, who inspired us with their courage, hard work, resiliency and determination; who suffered silently through rape, miscarriage, childbirth, infertility, ostracism…but kept praying and hoping for future generations of women to get a better life. I finally honor you women at Worldpulse, for having given me and all of us a voice.
I appreciate each one of you. It feels good to belong to a community of fantastic women like you.
For this occasion, I am sharing with you my two cents in form of my two following poems.

Enjoy!

WE ARE THE EXTENSION OF ONE ANOTHER
By Vera Nicimpaye

We are the extension of one another
Each one of us is in all of us
All of us are in each one of us

We are the extension of one another
When we find one of us we find ourselves
When we lose one of us we lose ourselves

We are the extension of one another
When we bless one of us we bless ourselves
When we annoy one of us we annoy ourselves

We are the extension of one another
When we care for one of us we care for ourselves
When we neglect one of us we neglect ourselves

We are the extension of one another
When we love one of us we love ourselves
When we detest one of us we detest ourselves

We are the extension of one another
United we will live together
Divided we will perish together

Because
WE ARE THE EXTENSION OF ONE ANOTHER.

ONCE I STOPPED
By Vera Nicimpaye

Once I stopped emphasizing on looking like a Barbie doll
And started empathizing and being friendly to all
Flowers started blooming on ice, deserts gorged with water
And the wind whispered mysterious words, filling my heart with laughter.

Once I stopped trying to be the better version for he
And started focusing on being the better version of me
Wisdom came to meet me, freedom opened its door
And I jumped with joy, because I had finally reached the ore.

Once I stopped looking for who cared
And started learning how to care
Mountaintops opened up and sang for me
And valleys got up to hug me, filling me with glee.

Once I stopped obsessing about how many I could change
And started pondering on how much I could change
My life’s burdens became as light as feathers
And my spirit soared past clouds until it reached the heavens.

Once I stopped counting how much I wanted
And started counting how much I had
My world was filled with all what I needed
And with abundance and peace of mind I was filled.

Once I stopped longing for a visit to Disneyland
And started longing for a visit to the “heartland”
Struggle and stress were swayed away by satisfaction
And lack and want were swallowed up by an ocean of completion.

Once I stopped looking at myself through social mirror
And started looking at myself through the divine mirror
The beauty and splendor I saw were so bright they burnt my eyes
And I saw the wonder woman that I was, the masterpiece of an “Intelligent Design”.