I first wrote this poem my last year at BYU-Idaho. I was sitting in church one day observing the wife of a member of our Bishopric who was also a new mother. I was inspired. The first two verses I wrote then, the rest I added to it last summer.
The Epitome of a Woman
The epitome of a woman
Is in her touch
Is in her smile
In only doing that
Which she knows is worthwhile
When she looks into tomorrow
Never thinking about today
The link through generations
Love and sacrifice is her way
She is always filled with virtue
She is always filled with strength
Standing tall and firm and steadfast
She will run the greater length
Her life may be a battle
Of truth and right from wrong
Yet never does she weary
She fills the world with song
Against her lies no competition
No enemy can prevail
The Lord is ever with her
She sees beyond the veil
She lifts, she builds, she strengthens
With heaven's mighty pull
Her body may be weary
But her heart is ever full
With wisdom she'll press forward
Generations yet to come
Will remember her in honor
Of the woman she has become
These are the women I think of when I think of this poem. My pioneer ancestors. They gave up everything. They faced so many difficulties and challenges. Each one has a miraculous story. Each one has been a source of strength to many. I honor them. Just in these photographs you can see courage, determination, and even refinement in their eyes. I also think of this woman.
She is not my ancestor. She never had any children, but her legacy is timeless. She is remembered and honored by thousands if not millions. She surely faced many of the trials I am going through, but like a modern-day Nephi she pressed forward with unwavering courage and determination. I want to be more like her: Eliza R. Snow.
That was a beautiful poem:)
ReplyDeleteNice. A bit absolute. I'm rather certain none of those women felt any closer to what you've described than you do.
ReplyDeleteThe epitome of a woman would be Heavenly Mother, and I think you've described her rather well, and my concerns about the "absolute" go away in the context of her.
Blain-that's the thing I think about womanhood. We often don't realize who we are. I love the second part of your comment. I think that's why I made sure to include Eliza R. Snow in this post. As you recall her poem (now the hymn "O, My Father") played a key role in revealing the existence of our Heavenly Mother to us. As women each of us display these qualities even though we have not even come close to reaching perfection-yet.
ReplyDeleteOkay. Works for me. Epitomes can be absolute. That's rather the point, actually.
ReplyDeleteI'm rather a fan of Eliza R. Snow myself -- she's one of the main people the lead character of OSC's novel Saints (aka A Woman of Destiny) is based on. And I'm rather a fan of Heavenly Mother as well. I'm no more comfortable with the marginalization of her than I was with the over-emphasis and inappropriate worship of her that it came in response to.
Sorry this took a while -- I forgot to add the comments of this to my RSS aggregator, and didn't think to look again until tonight.
As to the poem, I think it's well written. If it gets another revision (says the guy who has never revised a poem he's written, but likes the idea in principle -- get your grain of salt ready), evening out a few of the line so they have four iambs would smooth out the reading of it (a bit of elision and contraction here, an added beat or two there -- nothing huge). With a little polish, I think this'd be publishable in Meridian or, possibly, Ensign.
There. I've got this in my aggregator, so I can catch the comments as they happen. As I head off to the apartment with no internet connection as of yet.