For My Future Grandchildren

I want my future grandchildren,

and those that come after,

to say that I was fierce with heart.

I want them to know

that every action that I took

was mindful of their future existence,

that I was not merely a woman of resistance,

but a woman of vision.

To say that I didn’t just use my eyes to see

what was wrong in the world,

but used my hands and my heart to change it.

I want them to know

that grandma broke cy-cles

that I broke sweat to manifest dreams

that I broke bread with my enemies

that I broke open every morning

unafraid of the brilliance that I held inside.

I want them to say,

that I was never pushed down by criticism

and my ego was never elevated by praise

that I lived with the acknowledgement

that one day…

they would take their first breath, first steps

and I worked to protect

what was rightfully there’s.

Clean water.

Good Air.

Forest Floors.

River beds.

I did not only live for myself

but I lived for love.

I lived for light.

I lived among giants

but my moral compass

guided me right.

*

End note: I wrote this poem while at the Kairos Intergenerational Elements of Justice Conference, on Squamish unceded territory while realising why I was there. I want my son to understand why I get involved, why it’s important for him to carry that fire in his heart and passion in his belly. We don’t do it for us… we do it for them.