Last night I found myself the vessel of toxic emotions. Anger, frustration, annoyance, and outrage came bubbling up through my body--slithering up my veins, into my organs, and out of my mouth. Words are my favorite and best method of therapy. I felt the emotions building and rising within me and I knew I had to let them out. So I did. My voice rose as my throat and tongue began to feel the rush of communication. Each word flung itself further and further along in front of the last, like a snowball down a mountain, picking up speed and power with each passing moment. My boyfriend looked almost exhausted or uncomfortable. He tried to get me to calm down and stop repeating myself. Ironically, that was the exact thing I did not want to hear in that moment. I was exasperated by society and certain people and certain ways of thinking that have perpetuated misconduct on women and misrepresentation of what womanhood is all about. Hearing him attempt to silence my anger about my frustration with people trying to silence women speaking out about centuries of sexual objectification was the last straw of my night.
Ever since I can remember, writing has been my first response when emotions grab hold of me. I found myself shakily grabbing my journal and scratching words across the page...
::Howl::
Be a wolf, moon child.
Howl when it feels good.
Howl when it feels right.
Howl when something is wrong.
Howl-
Loudly and unapologetically.
Howl from that communal home of sisterhood we all have
deep within
the place of power and strength
Howl like your life depends on it
and the lives of your daughters
and their daughters
and their daughters-
Because they do.
When people stifle your voice
when they try to pull your cries down into a soft whisper
Your life, and all Her lives
die a bit
Withering away into the mist
until barely visible.
Only discovering the wolf within
can breathe life back into the
forgotten woman.
So howl, moon child. Howl!
