Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. —Psalm 80:3
These are the images that framed my working hours on this International Women’s Day.
The day began with a long neglected walk on the Trout Run Trail, where prairie is being restored on both sides of the paved path.
It ended with a short walk to my car, where the bold mural on a downtown building called again for my attention.
I wonder what it means for prairie to be restored, what it means for lives to be restored. Is it merely a return to what was? Or is there something new in the return? Something surprising in giving the land back to its roots, freeing it from rote, mown grass that gives the illusion of control?
I wonder what it means to have your whole self brought back to the world. Whole self. All of yourself that you know and understand. All of yourself that remains a mystery. All that you love easily. All that you struggle to accept. All that is affirmed by others. All that is constrained by others. All that systems of oppression use against you.
I wonder what it would take for all of us to walk beside one another for as long as it takes.
I have no answers, just these words…offered in gratitude for the circles of women who hold one another so fiercely and tenderly.
Prairie Restoration
The goldenrod will not be controlled;
The burdock stalk grows thick and strong;
Undignified, the mugwort keeps on dancing
In rhythm with the moon all night long.
Unauthorized mowing is captivity.
Unauthorized spraying kills diversity.
The One who authors life restores the prairie.
She takes root in unguarded spaces—
no expectations.
She translates the grace that sustains her—
sheltering neighbors.
Ignited, she survives
Incited, she thrives
Denied, she teaches
Silenced, she preaches…
Authored by her creator
Untamed, she stands.
We stand together.
The artist. The aster. The primrose. The poet.
The farmer. The fescue. The tickseed. The teacher.
The mother. The milkweed. The sorrel. The server.
The scientist. The star-grass. The ground plum. The preacher.
The welder. The willow. The clover. The captain.
The midwife. The mint. The dalea. The defender.
The entrepreneur. The treasured befriender—
Expansive, exquisite prairie,
Restoring one another.