A Visual Poem Inspired By Some Of The Most Resilient Women On Earth

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Women’s rights activist Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International, has worked with some of the world’s most resilient women ― women who have experienced the horrors of war, survived extreme poverty, bravely spoken their truths and transcended their pasts. Inspired by these indomitable spirits, Salbi wrote a poem that appears in If You Knew Me You Would Care, a book she collaborated on with renowned photographer Rennio Maifredi.

In the above video from “SuperSoul Sunday,” Salbi reads her powerful poem aloud as Maifredi’s striking images showcase the strength and goodness in these female survivors. 

What if I’m not sadness?

What if I’m not grief?

What if I’m not my victim’s story,

Nor am I my pain?

 

What if they are all part of me,

But not fully me?

What if I am just me?

 

What if I’m joy without reason,

Happiness in all seasons?

What if I am love for all?

What if I laugh for no reason and all reasons?

What if they are all part of me?

 

What if I don’t hate my enemy?

What if I forgive?

What if I see without judgment,

Love without reasons?

What if I give and receive without worry?

What if I can be all, and still be me?

 

What if this is it?

What if this is perfect?

What if I don’t doubt?

What if I just believe?

 

How would life be if I let it be?

How would I be if I accept fully me?

What will I be if today I am free?

What if this is the new story?

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

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