Nichole Pricha Photo.

“because of the women who came before me, i am.

not in ways that the eye can see. not the stories, the memory, the qualities i carry, these are quiet inheritances.

strength that does not harden, but softness that survives despite.

within them, and within me the ways we endure, adapt, and continue.

i carry their hands in mine. hands that nourished, held, cleared — hands that never leave.

their stories in my body. their becoming in my own. things passed down, without sound. things we still learn to hold, or things we choose not to carry.

lineage, is not pain alone. but continuation. feeling the hands of the ones before me, seeing the ones after me.”

written by me

—

my own lineage of women is a mystery, my mother my only knowing.

🌹 you can read the full essay and dedication to the women before us on my substack nicholepricha.substack.com