“When any woman, any mother suffers, we all do.”
Every night when I went to bed, I hoped for inspiration. Every night I chanted the words, I felt the words, I fell asleep to the words branded in my thoughts. Every night I wanted to scream out, so the world could hear them too: “WHEN ANY WOMAN SUFFERS, ANY MOTHER SUFFERS…WE ALL DO!”
The single whisper combined with other voices…women’s voices. I heard them. I felt them. They were coming to life. They were giving me a message. They were demanding…demanding that their message be given a voice. The message grew and expanded until it was too big, too much for me to keep inside. I sprang out of bed, rushed downstairs and with determination to keep up, I wrote.
A few minutes later, I set the pen aside, picked up the paper and read. I read words that I didn’t remember writing. I read words that were so powerful they made me weep. I read the words of a thousand plus women coming together, roaring to save each other, their families and their planet. I read the message given to me from Mother Earth.
I titled it ROAR!
The words have strength and power and a rhythm that is like nothing I’ve ever read. This short story is a parable, a poem, a declaration, a reclamation, a lesson for all of us. With their feet planted—grounded—in the earth, the women declare, “NO MORE!” and “ENOUGH!”
By the end of the story, the world—Earth and humanity—shifts on its axis and turns toward the light and power of women. The lesson, the message is clear: Because of the action of women, the world is changed for the better. Then all becomes quiet, peace is restored, and all is well.