NOT YO’ BUTTERFLY

music, lyrics - Nobuko Miyamoto

I’m not yo’ butterfly   

I’m not yo’ picture bride

I am a samurai woman

who holds up half the sky

I have unbowed my head

I have unbound my feet

I have endured the heat

I’m not afraid to leap

I AM, I AM

I have crossed waters wide

I have climbed mountains high

I carried you inside my heart

When I took a stride      

I am your memory

Story of you and me

Moment of breaking free

So you can be, you can be

I AM, I AM

I do not know my age

I am born every day

My spirit can’t be caged

I’m living to create

I AM, I AM, I AM, I AM

I’m a grandmother

I’m a barefoot gardener

A lover, a healer

I’m a memory keeper

I am a dancer

I’m a freedom believer

I am a seeker

I’m a cultural weaver

I AM, I AM

I’m not yo’ butterfly 

I’m not yo’ picture bride

I am a samurai woman

who holds up half the sky

I have unbowed my head

I have unbound my feet

I have endured the heat

I’m not afraid to leap

I AM, I AM

I am a woman 

who holds up half the sky

You are the women  

who hold up half the sky

We are the women 

who hold up half the sky