Food for the Woman's Soul

A very special woman wrote me recently to ask my help in getting her poem attributed to her and quoted correctly.
It is truly the most beautiful poem I have ever read in celebration of being a woman. I am honored to be able to help Patricia!
Another dear friend, Kelley Williams, who published It's a Woman Thing, included the poem there. It looked so beautiful there, and Kelley's introduction to it was so moving, I am quoting it as she wrote it.

Patricia Lynn Reilly has her own page up now!! It has so many great things on it for women, too many to list here! Visit [Open Window Creations - Woman Affirming Books &Resources, Workshops & Retreats] today.

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~RELATIONSHIPS~
In this issue, we offer you a poem in the "Relationships" section.
You are probably thinking that this doesn't have anything to do
with relationships...but read it again and think about it. It DOES
have to do with the most important relationship in your life..the
relationship with yourself.
IMAGINE A WOMAN
Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman.
A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories.
Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.
Imagine a woman who trusts and respects herself.
A woman who listens to her needs and desires.
Who meets them with tenderness and grace.
Imagine a woman who has acknowledged the past's influence on the
present. A woman who has walked through her past.
Who has healed into the present.
Imagine a woman who authors her own life.
A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf.
Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and to her wisest
voice.
Imagine a woman who names her own gods.
A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness.
Who designs her own spirituality and allows it to inform her
daily life.
Imagine a woman in love with her own body.
A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is.
Who celebrates her body and its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite
resource.
Imagine a woman who honors the body of the Goddess in her changing body.
A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom.
Who refuses to use her precious life energy disguising the changes in her
body and life.
Imagine a woman who values the women in her life.
A woman who sits in circles of women.
Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.
IMAGINE YOURSELF AS THIS WOMAN.
Written by Patricia Lynn Reilly.
€ Eight stanzas of the poem are found in Patricia's first book:
"A God Who Looks Like Me: Discovering A Woman-Affirming Spirituality"
(Ballantine, 1995)
€ Twenty-four stanzas of the poem are found in Patricia's second book:
"Be Full of Yourself!:The Journey from Self-Criticism to Self-
Celebration" (OWC, 1998)
€ Patrica's third book "Imagine a Woman in Love With Herself:
Embracing your Wholeness & Wisdom" (Conari, 1999) is based on the
poem.
€ The poem is available in postcard form from: Open Window Creations:
PO Box 8615, Berkeley, CA 94707; openwin@mcn.org.
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[The Momma's Quiet Corner] A Spot to Stop 'n Ponder. Beautiful, relaxing animated pictures and lovely poetry. Replenish your soul.