How

We love the poem "How" from Martha Haley, which she read in the film In the Family (this is an abbreviation):

How can I fight you, when you insist on sneaking up on me?
How can I hide from you, for everywhere I go you try to find me?
How can I see myself as a "woman" when you insist upon disfiguring me?
How can I look at my daughter, sister and friend and wonder are you going to hurt them also.
How can I walk straight, when you try to ripple through my bones?

I can because even though you sneak up on me, I know your there, that's why the fight isn't over.
And I can still see myself as a woman, "Because" it's not what you have done that defines my "Womanhood."
I am a "Woman" by God's Creation only and no one can take that away.
...because there's one thing you can't take from me and that's the ability to be a "Survivor."

The full poem and a photo of Martha can be found here.  More information about Martha's work to support and educate the black community about the risks for breast cancer can be found here.