Welcome to the sisterhood.
The family secrets are yours to explore
To keep or share as you will.
The pain you feel lasts only a day
But it reverberates for a lifetime,

From smile to smile and tear to tear, 
Partings and rejoinings,
Each becomes easier – and more difficult.

We suffer, we rejoice, 
In each other’s company.
If we choose to share,
Not just compare,
We give each other strength and meaning.

We cannot do it alone – 
The winds of change would be too much.
But bound together, we survive.
And offer up a praise
And thanksgiving.

Pain becomes a portal
To a higher, more perfect place.
And the sisterhood of suffering
Becomes a glorious robe.

Jane 

2000