Dear Godmother of heaven and earth and all that in them is and was,
Mother of all living beings and things
Grieving Mother of all who are unhealthy, depressed, oppressed, oppressing, depressing, expiring, expired
Exuberant Mother giving birth daily
We honor your spoken, living word inducing birth pangs
Your melodious words that preceded earth, sun, moon, stars,
The shaping of the seas, oceans, rivers, lakes
We remember the labor of your hands
That scooped up soil to form a human being
And from that same refined substance, a second human being
Your female children, I present to you in need of healing, justice, help
Healing we need from being bruised and at times crushed
Under the foot of a sacralized notion that women must
Stand under the foot or behind the back of your male children
One child grabs the other’s heel greedily snatching what is his AND hers
Healing we need from being suppressed and muted
Because some of our sisters and brothers have decreed that you
Have mandated our silence in the church, the pulpit, in the presence of men and authorities
Deliverance we need from being seen as less than desired subjects of research
Research that might tells us more about our bodies, our health
Mother you know, our black sisters experience higher cancer mortality rates
Than their counterparts, so teach us prevention and mutual care
While inequity in research, access to excellent care, and racism persist.
Some persist propagating that beautiful women of color are less pretty, not as intelligent
Protect us from those darts that can pierce our souls
Heal our minds, our hearts, our souls so that we value and love ourselves, our voices, our sometimes unique physiognomy, critical education, justice everywhere, immeasurable forgiveness, sisterhood without prejudice and deceit
Teach us to promote wholeness of mind, body and soul
Heal us where we are divisive except where our disruption of the status quo
Is a consequence of our pursuit of justice for all God’s children.
Open our eyes to see our sisters, children & brothers living under the cruel hand of poverty
To crush homelessness, hunger, disease, blaming of the victim, and oppressive systems.
Heal, Lord, our sisters, children and brothers who have been afflicted by
Hatred, bigotry, Cancer, strokes, heart attacks, diabetes, high blood pressure, MS, leukemia, AIDS, and deteriorating undiscriminating diseases
That cripple mind, body, and soul
That shorten and diminish the quality of our lives and threaten the well being of
Our children, our communities, and our world.
Godmother of us all,
Heal us.
