The Sisterhood of Branwen

I should be heart broken and despondent. The women who supported me for more than eighteen months have all left Cardigan Woman's Aid who are under new management. I went to their leaving do this week and wrote this poem for them. As with many of my poems it rhymes but stretches the limits of scanning. It does however say it all. It gives a taste of the magic these women have worked in many lives and I have no doubt that they will all continue their important work in another context. I do however feel intense anger at this government, the cuts it is imposing and patriarchy in all his forms.

THE SISTERHOOD OF BRANWEN

by Bríd Wyldearth 2012

The sisterhood of Branwen are a ferocious bunch
You wouldn’t want to meet them if you like to kick and punch
They hide women from their husbands and help them to claim their dues
And you might be mistaken in blaming them for the end of traditional family values

They get women addicted to their subversive freedom programme
And show them how to tell between a bully and a real man
They sit around and chatter with cakes and cups of tea
And they say that all they’re doing is crafting jewelry

And on the feast of Brigid, goddess of healing and creativity
They make eyes and crosses for protection and dolls for strength and liberty
They weave labyrinths to envision futures of comfort, calm and peace
And they make masks and art and lanterns to empower and beautify and please

And they congratulate and applaud every woman’s achievements
As they rediscover their creativity, courage, strength and confidence
And deep within the earth they meet at each full moon
To plant seeds for new beginnings and to celebrate their creative wombs

And every time they meet they light a candle in remembrance
Of all the women and children who have not survived domestic violence
And although the tentacles of patriarchy still seek power through domination
The sisterhood of Branwen know that true power comes from within and liberation



THANK YOU SISTERHOOD OF BRANWEN FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR GIVING ME MORE SUPPORT, UNDERSTANDING AND AFFIRMATION THAN I HAVE EVER KNOWN