One morning, she came, she saw, and she conquered
Not aggressively nor arrogantly
Instead, with promise, nonviolence and acceptance
Grace approached a small group of women
Gently and calmly, but they were scared of her
Who was this haggard one, this homeless urchin?
They scorned and bullied her, she didn’t fit in
They judged her until she was upside down
And all around, she didn’t fight back
She absorbed their hostile and shameful actions
And words, and she became more and more beautiful
In return
Once, they looked at her and she had grown
The head of a mother lion and the tale of a devil
They mocked her again for being so different
Later that day, they noticed she was ailing, in bad health
But, she never acted in any way that was harmful
She was ready for her fate
Still later, a little girl walked by the group, joining them
"Who is this ugly witch?" she asked
They tried to shield the little girl from the witch's wrath
Instead, Grace picked up the little girl, hugged her gently
And, put her down again softly. She cried tears
For the little girl and her lot in life
Finally, the day was drawing to an end and the group
Moved toward their homes. Grace said good bye and
Flew into the trees, cloaked in black, a crow
"Caw, Caw," she said in her loud, rough voice and
The humans heard the most beautiful singing instead
What amazing music, what elegance and skill!
As she flew from tree to tree, she joined other crows
And they laughed together, shouting to each other
Knowing that Grace had done some time with humans
"Aren’t human beings terrible?" they asked her
'Don’t they smell bad and act horribly?
No wonder they are all miserable!"
And Grace cawed only a few notes which meant
“They know not what they do”
And she flew off into the heavens above
She also flew toward the darkness below, inside the earth
Where she began breathing peacefully, telling her mother
"I did what you asked me to do, and look what happened"
Mother Earth dropped tears upon her and replied
"You did just as I asked and those humans will reap
Great rewards having been in your presence"
"What about me though? I may lose feathers and my
Beak seems to have cracked because of my time there
How will I recover and heal?"
Mother Earth wrapped her arms around Grace
Held her closely for a long time and said
"You are with me now, safe and glowing with energy
Now, you get to rest, you have done your duty
You have offered another way to these humans
Now, breathe in the peace which passeth all understanding"
May it be so
