Perpetually adrift,
Lost down a myriad of rabbit holes,
Like Rodin’s The Thinker at the Gates of Hell,
That’s exactly where the devil wants you,
Caught up in your tangled thoughts rather than living life in the here and now,
Overwhelming emotions,
Mental confusion,
Hysteria,
Feeling like there’s
No
Way
Out....

Stop!
Breathe!
Slow down your pitch,
Lower your tone of voice,
Hand your worries to God,
Ask Him to relieve you of your burden and light your way,
Consciously choose the path of joy and love
Over fear
Time after time after time...

We the sleepy are waking up,
Noticing what’s behind the veil
That’s kept us from our one true being,
Prepare yourself for change afoot,
Seek redemption in our Lord Almighty,
Pray with all your might,
And light the way for those who are willing and ready.

Despite the devil’s best attempts
To drag me down rabbit holes and muddle my thinking,
Or drown me in the lake of despondency and despair,
I’m still standing.
And not only that,
Full of tenacity, hope and courage,
And with God on my side
I won’t just survive,
But thrive.

When life’s a challenge
And all feels lost,
No hope in sight,
No clear direction,
There’s only one thing to do,
And that’s pray to God Almighty,
For He has your back
And will comfort and guide you,
If only you let Him.
🙏🏻

Whatever you say about me,
Whether you judge me,
Or condemn me,
I really don’t care.

I may choose to wear green with blue,
Or pink with red,
And a large straw hat.
Don a posh dress to the shops,
Or T-shirt and jeans to the opera.
I may sing in the street,
And dance in the rain.
I may stay up all night,
And sleep all day.
Work from bed in pyjamas,
Or take the day off
And swim in the sea.
I may laugh at your anger,
And cry at your humour.
Be assertive and strong,
Or bossy and proud,
Take a stand for what I believe,
Or simply let things pass me by.
I may be single and sexually active,
Or marry and abstain,
Or switch between the two.
I may be the life and soul of the party,
Or people watch from the fringe.
I may chat ten to the dozen,
Or say nothing at all.
I may spend time in your company,
Or decline for my own.
I may stay...
Or I may walk away.

It’s my life,
My choices,
My desire,
To do and be who I want day by day,
And which I choose is fine by me.

So whatever you say about me,
However you judge or condemn,
I simply don’t care!
For I’m Unapologetically
Me.

No more a scrap of a girl
Retreating in her shell,
No more a Cinderella
Not invited to the ball,
No more a lady in waiting
Hiding in the wings,
For I have cast off my cloak of shame and despair,
And I stand here now
As a fully fledged 51 year old
Beautiful,
****,
Sassy
Woman
💃

Is that me?
Is that really me?
That girl in the photo?
The one standing in her power,
Wrapped in chiffon and little else,
Looking confidently towards the future,
With her hands on her hips
And a glint in her eye,
Assertive,
Sassy,
****.
Yes.
That’s
Me!

In the midst of a sudden storm
One night a year ago,
Whilst solitary camping
In ancient woodland
With wise majestic oaks,
From seemingly nowhere
A poem flowed from within,
Unleashing a torrent of words.
387 published poems later,
Releasing bridled feelings,
Unveiling past experiences,
Encapsulating deep seated pain and hidden anguish,
My healing journey continues,
With inner strength, courage, compassion
And a 180 degree turn
Towards my dreams
And my future.

An oyster starts off as pure and innocent,
Until an irritating parasite, wheedles it’s way in,
Instead of succumbing,
The mollusk covers it in layers and layers of elegant nacre,
Transforming it into something magical and beautiful and priceless,
One of nature’s miracles,
A strong iridescent unique pearl.

We must do the same,
Cover our failings and our insecurities and our sins
In layers and layers of kindness and compassion and forgiveness,
Till we too blossom and shine bright,
Becoming priceless in all our glory.

You only stayed because
God wanted you to,
Forcing you to stay
Against your will,
By choice you’d be gone,
You’d have run far away,
Because of who I am
And what I do
😢

But by the grace of God
You are still here
Still believing in me,
Still supporting me,
Still empowering me
Helping me unfurl my wings
And not just to fly,
But to soar.
🦅

Keep falling back
Into the hole,
That abyss of despondency and despair,
Until the straw breaks the proverbial camel’s back,
This time vino the cause.
Come morning,
You realise ....
Too late.
Life’s changed.
Will never be the same again.
That most important and precious to you
Has gone.....
You are alone once more
To wallow in that ***** ditch to your heart’s content

How to tell when to take words at face value,
Not to misread into things,
Making two plus two equal five,
Not to analyse each word,
Expecting to be tripped up,
An ulterior motive,
A hidden agenda,
Sometimes things are just as they are,
At face value.
And sometimes not.
The trick is to learn when and when not.

Erroneous thoughts
Catch you unaware,
Appearing in your mind
Suddenly,
From nowhere,
Feeling so real,
Like a great truth,
An inspired idea,
A revelation.
Always remember,
If it’s negative,
Doesn’t make you feel good,
Detrimental to you or another,
It’s an attack,
A ruse,
A plant from the devil.
Begone! say you,
And draw deep on the well of love within you
To overcome,
Time after time after time,
Until that ole brute
Gets bored and moves on
To pastures new.