Trigger Warning
our mothers
were daughters
of women who
have suffered
their entire
lives
all they could
teach us was
how to
suffer
and teach us
they did
throughout the Balkans
suffering has been
elevated to an
art form
our female ancestors
suffered gracefully
and in silence
for decades
for generations
but along with
the suffering
they also
taught us
love
which is how every
suffering is
healed
their strength
and determination
to survive against
the wildest odds
inside a savagely
patriarchal world
it taught us
how to be
brave
and their love
and their kindness
towards a world that
was not kind to them
(nor did it love them back)
it taught us
how to always
be ourselves
our mothers and
grandmothers
showed us the
ailment and
they gave us
the cure
it is up to us now
to heal their wounds
because their
wounds are
our wounds
that’s how
love works