Steel Magnolia

Little did she know
how much she would affect my life
Not in any major earth-shattering day
Nor in any single act of kindness

Mountains are not moved by words or platitudes
If they move at all
It is only by responding to the heart's most
innerfelt pleas
of steadfast devotion

...of

unfathomable love
and unshakable faith

It is one who is not afraid of toil and pain that carves the way through the brush in the heat of day
Or sails the unchartered waters by night
while others sleep

They call them steel magnolias in the South
A direction we capitalize
A way we cherish

That Southern tradition of women
blends the soft with the strong
the old with the new

and molds for life
those who heed it's calling

It is born of tradition,
upheld in honor,
and passed on at great cost to the bearer

Like our Mothers before us

An unspoken creed, a recognition of a sister, a friend
That crosses all barriers
Heals all wounds

And Moves! all Mountains

What she has accomplished in her life
is more than the resume
more than the acclaim
more than the reward

She did it not for any glory or gain
She did it for reasons few would understand
She did it only for this...
It needed to be done

And by her doing
she accidentally, incidentally,
touched my life
Inspired me
Nourished my heart
And gave me the will to go on

Lord, I'm one, Lord, I'm two
Lord, I'm three, Lord, I'm four
Lord, I'm five hundred miles away from home

And we know, we have always known
We cannot go home
This Way

We will not go home this way

Thank you Shirley
We will not go home this way

Not when there is a better way

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