THE CORNER 4 WOMEN

Tuesday 21 November 2023

THINGS THAT EAT ME ALIVE by Rae Pathak

"THINGS THAT EAT ME ALIVE"
by Rae Pathak

"You have been like this for the longest time—suffering, mothering grief, living with regrets.

You feel like you have learned your lesson, then you make the same mistakes again—risking your heart, risking being misunderstood, risking being hated—all of it in the hopes that maybe someday, someone will be able to understand you.

Anger? Not really.

Disappointment? Perhaps.

For you let go of something that was good for you for something that you could love, and now you have neither.

There are no instant relief methods to this illness. Melancholy, like a tandem passenger, sits behind you as you pedal forward alone. Would it have been easier if there were love? Maybe.

But then love, too, has been a difficult subject all through your life. You have only known hunger. Just caring wasn't enough. Just loving wasn't either. You needed more. Even when there was enough love, you were hungry for more. You are a glutton who doesn't know how to stop.

There was an empty space inside you that grew more and more each time you were loved. Some sort of sadness sits inside it. You don't pray, but sometimes, you wish for someone to make you whole. All your life, you have had this empty feeling. Even when you were laughing, there was this lingering heartache—a sorrow without a source.

If you really could run, you'd run away to home. But you have run for so long, you aren't sure where home is supposed to be anymore. You tell yourself sometimes that maybe there is no home. We all just exist. What you mean is that if there was a home, why does it escape you? Why does everyone know that feeling but you?

You wished your body were a city. Then it could be ruined and reconstructed. The body is a thing without an exit. Once you are alive, you have to keep living until you die. There's no escape, no way to skip parts you do not like. You hope this anguish leaves you before your cold body is buried in the ground. At least once, you'd like to know what it's like being perfectly happy.

In the past, you have always wanted to fix yourself. If there were a time machine, you would have travelled to the past and erased all that went wrong. But would it be enough to make everything okay? At the crux of it all, you hoped for acceptance—for yourself. And change. It wouldn't fix anything, but all you have wanted was to not mourn yourself so terribly.

At the very least, for once, you'd like to learn to live with yourself."

— Rae Pathak, things that eat me alive

Follow at Instagram.com/raepathak

Illustration by Haylee Morice

Inspired Diane Wakoski & Zhao

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She had lived her life with a loving by Suzanne Reynolds

"She had lived her life with a loving" by Suzanne Reynolds

When she was a little girl

they told her she was beautiful

but it had no meaning

in her world of bicycles

and pigtails

and adventures in make-believe.

Later, she hoped she was beautiful

as boys started taking notice

of her friends

and phones rang for

Saturday night dates.

She felt beautiful on her wedding day,

hopeful with her

new life partner by her side

but, later,

when her children called

her beautiful,

she was often exhausted,

her hair messily tied back,

no make up,

wide in the waist

where it used to be narrow;

she just couldn’t take it in.

Over the years, as she tried,

in fits and starts,

to look beautiful,

she found other things

to take priority,

like bills

and meals,

as she and her life partner

worked hard

to make a family,

to make ends meet,

to make children into adults,

to make a life.

Now,

she sat.

Alone.

Her children grown,

her partner flown,

and she couldn’t remember

the last time

she was called beautiful.

But she was.

It was in every line on her face,

in the strength of her arthritic hands,

the ampleness that had

a million hugs imprinted

on its very skin,

and in the jiggly thighs and

thickened ankles

that had run her race for her.

She had lived her life with a loving

and generous heart,

had wrapped her arms

around so many to

to give them comfort and peace.

Her ears had

heard both terrible news

and lovely songs,

and her eyes

had brimmed with,

oh, so many tears,

they were now bright

even as they dimmed.

She had lived and she was.

And because she was,

she was made beautiful.

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The Time-Travelling Teapot by English With Mia

"The Time-Travelling Teapot"

by English With Mia

Once upon a time, in a cosy little village nestled between green hills and blooming meadows, there lived a young girl named Lily. Lily loved exploring and learning about the world around her. But more than anything, she loved her grandmother's stories about magic and adventures.

One sunny afternoon, while rummaging through the attic, Lily stumbled upon an old teapot covered in dust. Curiosity sparked in her eyes as she held the teapot in her hands. It was an ordinary-looking teapot, but there was something special about it.

As she dusted it off, the teapot began to glow, emitting a faint, magical aura. Surprised but intrigued, Lily decided to pour herself a cup of tea using the teapot. With a sip, something extraordinary happened—the world around her started to spin, and she found herself transported to a different time!

Lily blinked in astonishment as she realized she was in the middle of a bustling market square. Colourful stalls lined the streets, and people wore clothes from long ago. She had travelled back in time!

Amidst the crowd, Lily met a friendly baker named Mr. Jenkins. He welcomed her warmly and offered her a scrumptious cinnamon bun. Lily explained her predicament to him, showing him the teapot that brought her there.

Mr. Jenkins listened attentively and smiled. "Ah, that teapot has been in my family for generations. Legend has it that it can take you on magical journeys through time."

He told Lily that the only way to return home was to find a special gemstone hidden in the heart of the ancient forest—the source of the teapot's magic.

Lily embarked on an adventure, guided by Mr. Jenkins' map, through the forest. She encountered talking animals and shimmering fireflies along the way, each offering help and encouragement.

Finally, after crossing rivers and climbing hills, she reached a hidden cave deep in the forest. Inside, nestled in a glowing crystal, was the precious gemstone.

With the gemstone in hand, Lily hurried back to the market square. As she poured tea from the time-traveling teapot onto the gemstone, a magical whirlwind engulfed her. When the whirlwind settled, Lily found herself back in her grandmother's attic, holding the teapot.

Breathless but brimming with joy, Lily realized she was back home. She hugged the teapot tightly, grateful for the extraordinary adventure it had taken her on.

From that day forward, whenever Lily brewed tea in the time-traveling teapot, she knew that while she might not physically travel through time again, the memories of her magical adventure would always stay with her.

And so, Lily learned that sometimes, the most amazing adventures can start with an ordinary teapot and a dash of curiosity.

https://www.facebook.com/MiaEnglishTeacher

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CHAPTERS by Becky Hemsley

"CHAPTERS"
by Becky Hemsley 2023

We all of us have chapters

That we wish we’d never written

Pages that we’ve torn or burned

Or locked away and hidden

We all have masks and costumes

That we wish we’d never worn

And lines that we have spoken

That we wish could be withdrawn

We all of us have characters

We’d strike clean from the page

And maybe big decisions

That we’re desperate to change

And we are very tempted

To pretend they don’t exist

To tell a perfect story

Where these things are all dismissed

But do not hide those chapters

They’re your story’s little scars

And they’re crucial to your tale

Though you might not think they are

‘Cause without them all, your story

Isn’t quite the one you wrote

And we have to make mistakes

If we’re to learn what matters most

Yes, without them all your story

Will be hard to comprehend

Remember - some things only make sense

When we’re getting to the end

******

Becky Hemsley 2023

Lovely artwork by Diana Pedott

'Chapters' is the final poem in my new collection which can be found here https://a.co/d/a4voxi5

(or via an Amazon search for 'Becky Hemsley')

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GILLIAN

"GILLIAN"
(author unknown)

Gillian is a seven-year-old girl who cannot sit in school.

She continually gets up, gets distracted, flies with thoughts, and doesn't follow lessons.

Her teachers worry about her, punish her, scold her, reward the few times that she is attentive, but nothing.

Gillian does not know how to sit and cannot be attentive.

When she comes home, her mother punishes her too.

So not only does she Gillian have bad grades and punishment at school, but she also suffers from them at home.

One day, Gillian's mother is called to school.

The lady, sad as someone waiting for bad news, takes her hand and goes to the interview room.

The teachers speak of illness, of an obvious disorder.

Maybe it's hyperactivity or maybe she needs a medication.

During the interview an old teacher arrives who knows the little girl.

He asks all the adults, mother and colleagues, to follow him into an adjoining room from where she can still be seen.

As he leaves, he tells Gillian that they will be back soon and turns on an old radio with music.

As the girl is alone in the room, she immediately gets up and begins to move up and down chasing the music in the air with her feet and her heart.

The teacher smiles as the colleagues and the mother look at him between confusion and compassion, as is often done with the old.

So he says: "See? Gillian is not sick, Gillian is a dancer!"

He recommends that her mother take her to a dance class and that her colleagues make her dance from time to time.

She attends her first lesson and when she gets home she tells her mother: "Everyone is like me, no one can sit there!"

In 1981, after a career as a dancer, opening her own dance academy and receiving international recognition for her art, Gillian Lynne became the choreographer of the musical "Cats."

Hopefully, all “different” children find adults capable of welcoming them for who they are and not for what they lack.

Long live the differences, the little black sheep and the misunderstood.

They are the ones who create beauty in this world

https://tc4women.nicheebookcollections.com/NEWSLETTER-EBOOK-LIBRARY-SIGNUP.html

Monday 20 November 2023

LISTEN by Becky Hemsley

"LISTEN"
by Becky Hemsley 2020

Listen when it’s raining

As the water hits the ground

And you’ll hear a million secrets

That are hidden in that sound

The pitter patter raindrops

Hold the whispered words inside

Of the people who have shared them

With the velvet midnight sky

The drops that pound the pavement

Spill out anger loud and harsh

They’re the words and thoughts of people

Who have cried beneath the stars

The rain that adds to oceans

And their vast capacious flow

Is the grief of people holding on

For fear of letting go

The waters flooding cities

Overwhelming homes and towns

Are the silent words of suffering

Entrusted to the clouds

And when the clouds are heavy

When our secrets fill the sky

When our thoughts are too oppressive

Then the Earth begins to cry

So listen when it’s raining

If you’re quiet then you’ll hear

All the secrets and emotions

That are muffled by Earth’s tears

******

Becky Hemsley 2020

Beautiful artwork by AF Anki MalowAnki

'Listen' is from Talking to the Wild

https://a.co/d/gyBBmgR

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Sunday 19 November 2023

IF THIS DAY HAD BEEN YOUR LAST by Becky Hemsley

"IF THIS DAY HAD BEEN YOUR LAST"
by Becky Hemsley 2023

One time I met a man

Who only had a month to live

And I asked him if he had

Any advice that he could give

He said “I wake each morning

Knowing I am going to die

So each day must remind me

I am blessed to be alive

You see, my life’s on countdown

As each hour is unfurled

I know the clock is ticking

On my time here in this world

But what you’re overlooking

Is that it’s the same for you -

You know that I am dying

But forget that you are too

So make the most of sunshine

And go dancing in the rain

And sing a little louder

When your favourite music plays

Notice nature’s colours,

Savour everything you taste

Stop waiting for tomorrow

‘Cause you’ve got no time to waste

And could you say convincingly

That you’d have no regrets?

If just the next few days or weeks

Were all that you had left?”

And then my breath caught quickly

When he turned to me and asked

“Could you say that you died happy

If this day had been your last?”

*****

Becky Hemsley 2023

Artwork by Rafy A

From my new collection: https://a.co/d/9OU8lGH

https://tc4women.nicheebookcollections.com/NEWSLETTER-EBOOK-LIBRARY-SIGNUP.html