To Thine Own Flame Be True <br /> <br />There is a place in all our breasts <br />where we hold our truest treasures. <br />Our love for ourselves and for all of our kind <br />and the virtues by which we are measured. <br /> <br />We begin with the grain that continuously binds <br />We end with the wheat of our harvest. <br />We remember our sisters who emblazon our path; <br />whose flames burn throughout the forest. <br /> <br />Symbolic sisters envisioning their dreams. <br />Each striding forth from disparate abodes. <br />Each singing bravely her own heartsong. <br />Each stepping onto the grand road. <br /> <br />From each separate singing, <br />a separate choir petitioned. <br />Some sang for freedom from fear and oppression. <br />Some sang for equal conditions. <br /> <br />In each of their hearts no matter the verse, <br />a flame gleamed glorious in hue <br />Its light on the land diminished the dark. <br />The dream of the women stood true. <br /> <br />That their brothers and sisters, <br />their dissidents and their esteemed <br />might mingle touching shoulder to shoulder <br />and together walk into the stream. <br /> <br />Today we stand to remember our sisters <br />and the honor which to us they have given. <br /> <br />We see the stars, the trails they have blazed <br />the strength that flows from their light. <br /> <br />We continue to sing the dissonant songs <br />Some want to be equal - some want to be free. <br /> <br />We continue toward the great promised state <br />We continue to carry the vision. <br /> <br />We continue to stride toward justice and peace <br />infusing the whole world with our mission. <br /> <br />We carry the torch in our common cache <br />Flaming brilliantly blue on the path.<br /><br />Sojourner Kincaid Rolle<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-thine-own-flame-be-true/