I Wear Red

I Wear Red

I wear red for my sisters

Whose blood flows monthly

I wear red for my sisters

Whose blood is spilled through beatings

I wear red for my sisters

Whose blood flows with difficulty

Through wounds inflicted

I wear red in rage

That my sisters whose blood flows monthly

Are beaten and raped and insulted and silenced

And held captive, and murdered.

I wear red because this is known and not yet stopped

I wear red so that we can find each other

I wear orange with red

For my young sisters forced into marriage

Denied schooling

I wear orange to temper and strengthen my red

Fold in my red melting with orange

Expanding, widening, illuminating, joining, flowing

I wear yellow drawing and celebrating

The power of the Sun

Source of energy

Unending warmth

I bask in her rays

I send my desperate and deliberate cry

For the strength to right this inexplicable wrong

I wear blue and turquoise

Our magnificent rivers and lakes and oceans

Water washing over and healing

All the wounds of my sisters

I wear blue and turquoise in celebration of our voices

Our hearts’ desires rising into our throats

Calling to each other

Our strong voices heard now across oceans

I wear indigo in awe of our night skies

Moon, stars and planets

As we gently spiral through the Milky Way together

I wear indigo in awe

Of our ability to draw inspiration

I wear indigo to imagine my purpose

I wear purple in celebration

Of my independence and fierce love for women

I wear red for the love of women whose blood flows monthly

I wear red toward the day that every woman and girl is free

I wear red in celebration of our beauty

I wear red in celebration that we are finding each other.