A woman’s strength is there when
She walks back through the barn door
After one of her beloved bovines has
Done the unthinkable, then stomped once more
She shines on


A woman’s strength is there when
She relearns how to make meals for one
And sign a card with only her name
When her partner’s race has been run
She shines on






A woman’s strength is there when
She works to discover what she’s meant for
There is no set path, she must pave her own
She knows not what’s in store
She shines on


A woman’s strength is there when
She sets a goal and holds her head high
Pushes her shoulders back, knows she can do it
Takes a deep breath and steadily aims for the sky
She shines on





A woman’s strength is there when
She signs the papers saying she’s free
The declaration of a needed divorce
Now to remind herself who she wants to be
She shines on


A woman’s strength is there when
She gets out of bed day after miserable day
After losing a child, she mourns
She moves, she continues to pray
She shines on


A woman’s strength is there when
She wakes, rolls over, and her feet hit the cold floor
Wandering, she finds and cradles the new babe
Smiles a sleepy grin, and her heart soars
She shines on


A woman’s strength is there when
She looks in the mirror and is moved to tears
That woman in there can’t be her
Then she breathes deep and swallows her fears
She shines on


A woman’s strength is there when
The work she does is largely unseen
Fighting for causes dear to her heart, while
She cooks, she tends, keeps her home clean
She shines on


A woman’s strength is there when
She watches her child cross that graduation stage
A mixture of pride, love and sadness welling up
Her heart sees them suddenly at every age
She shines on


A woman’s strength is there when
She changes her life routine in favor of care
Of her parents, her children, grandchildren
Forgetting herself along the way somewhere
She shines on
    Jacqui and her family milk 800 cows and farm 1,200 acres of crops in the northeastern corner of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Her children, Ira, Dane, Henry and Cora, help her on the farm while her husband, Keith, works on a grain farm. If she’s not in the barn, she’s probably in the kitchen, trailing after little ones or sharing her passion of reading with someone. Her life is best described as organized chaos, and if it wasn’t, she’d be bored.