All Along You Were Blooming

All week long we’ve been thinking about fruitfulness, where it comes from, and what it looks like. What speaks to you in this poem?

All Along You Were Blooming
Morgan Harper Nichols

You might have a little fire in you, a little rain,

a little thunder,

a little wind in your sail too.

You might have

a bit of your mother in you, your grandmother,

her mother,

a beautiful old soul

you feel connected to.

And with all of these

many parts,

you were made to shine

unapologetically bright,

even when you do not know where to stand, even when the lighting is not right.

So don’t let anyone tell you you have to have

the way you are

all sorted out

before you walk through your cave of doubt into your life that is happening now.

And whether the way you come alive is through your words,

your humor,

your tenderness,

your song,

now is the time to share

what has been in you all along: a full-color soul

lined with gold

and a million stories

that make you

who you are.