THE CORNER 4 WOMEN

Friday 24 November 2023

TORN by Becky Hemsley

"TORN"
by Becky Hemsley

For a long time I would tear myself to pieces trying to play the characters that other people needed on their pages and in their stories.

I would try to remember the lines I thought they needed me to speak and the plots they wanted me to follow.

And so I became a collage of characters. Tiny scraps of different people all a little frayed at the edges.

And sometimes I would do great things and sometimes I would make mistakes.

So sometimes I became the hero

and sometimes I became the villain.

No matter how unintentional.

But that’s ok.

I’ve realised that it’s ok.

Because I’ve since learned that I’m not a character in someone else’s story and I don’t need to tear myself apart trying to fit in.

I am my own person.

I have my own pages. My own story.

And instead of becoming a collage of who I thought I needed to be,

I’ve realised all along…

that I only ever needed to be myself.

******

Becky Hemsley 2023

Artwork by the super talented gisifraga

'Torn' is from 'Letters from Life' https://a.co/d/dp9CktB

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BREATHE by Becky Hemsley

"BREATHE"
by Becky Hemsley 2021

She sat at the back and they said she was

shy

She led from the front and they hated her

pride

They asked her advice and then questioned her

guidance

They branded her loud then were shocked by her

silence

When she shared no ambition, they said it was

sad

So she told them her dreams and they said she was

mad

They told her they'd listen then covered their

ears

And gave her a hug whilst they laughed at her

fears

And she listened to all of it, thinking she

should

Be the girl they told her to be, best as she

could

But one day she asked what was best for

herself

Instead of trying to please everyone

else

So she walked to the forest and stood with the

trees

She heard the wind whisper and dance with the

leaves

And she spoke to the willow, the elm and the

pine

And she told them what she'd been told, time after

time

She told them she felt she was never enough

She was either too little or far, far too much

Too loud or too quiet, too fierce or too weak

Too wise or too foolish, too bold or too meek

Then she found a small clearing, surrounded by

firs

And she stopped and she heard what the trees said to

her

And she sat there for hours not wanting to

leave

For the forest said nothing, it just let her

"breathe"

******

Becky Hemsley 2021

Gorgeous artwork by @sa_alvr via Instagram

Breathe is from my first collection, Talking to the Wild https://www.amazon.com/dp/1739824504?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1...

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IT WAS AS IF? by Joanne Boyle

"IT WAS AS IF?"
by Joanne Boyle

It was as if you read my dreams today,

when the rain poured down hard,

and washed away the invisible ink,

that I was writing in a card.

It was as if you read my thoughts today,

when the wind was wild and free,

blowing away the angry words

that were trying to change me.

It was as if you understood today,

when the thunder shouted back,

shouting louder than a steam train,

that had fallen from the track.

It was as if you just knew today,

when the sun lit up my day,

and followed me like a secret shadow,

to help me on my way.

Joanne Boyle

https://www.facebook.com/poeminabottlle

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Thursday 23 November 2023

God also needed you by Joanne Boyle

"God also needed you" by Joanne Boyle

The skies opened up their clouds,

made a stairway in the sky.

They shone a light to guide you,

as the angels whispered fly.

I held your hand so tightly,

fought those angels off with love,

but I knew it was for the best,

to let you move above.

As your grip got weaker,

I could feel it deep within

that I was now out numbered,

and the angels came to win.

They didn't want to take you,

but they knew it was your time.

It didn't matter who you left,

or that you were mine.

I felt a sense of peace,

as my grip got weaker too.

I knew I had to let you go,

as God also needed you.

Joanne Boyle

https://www.facebook.com/poeminabottlle

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I'LL REMEMBER I'M LOVED by Becky Hemsley

"I'LL REMEMBER I'M LOVED"
by Becky Hemsley 2022

When I am older

I might not remember

I might get confused

And I might lose my temper

And there may be times

When I don’t know your name

Because it’s been trapped,

Locked away in my brain

And though it will hurt

To think I could forget you

Offer me smiles,

Hold my hand if I’ll let you

And talk of adventures

We had long ago

Show me the photos

Of people I know

Play music we’ve danced to

And songs we have sung

Read me the books I read

When I was young

‘Cause your voice and your words

Might just be the key

That opens the door -

That unlocks it for me

And maybe the music

Will spark tiny embers

Of memories dormant

And I will remember

Your name and your face

And the words to our song

The times and the places

To which I’ve belonged

And it might last moments

Or minutes or more

As the fire sheds light

Through the crack in the door

But when the door closes

And gone are the flames

When you are once more

A stranger again

Just know you’ll have stirred something

Deep down inside

Something familiar

That I recognise

Something that’s real

That’s not stored in my head

But right at the core

Of my heart space instead

Something that’s stirred

By your smiles and your stories

The touch of your hand

And the songs you sing for me

And though I’ll have no words to tell you

Just trust

That deep down inside

I’ll remember

I’m loved

*******

Becky Hemsley 2022

Exquisite artwork by the wonderful Lisa Aisato

Sending so much love, peace and compassion to anyone dealing with this - either directly or whilst caring for a loved one. Be kind to yourself.

This poem is called Embers and Keys and is in the book 'Letters from Life' https://a.co/d/17LrMHG

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Wednesday 22 November 2023

Ouroboros by Becky Hemsley

"Ouroboros" by Becky Hemsley

Her wings were spun from sunsets

And from fading autumn leaves

From sycamore seed skeletons

And dandelion seeds

She wove in supernovas

With some scattered clouds sewn in

They were delicate and fragile

Barely there and paper thin

Her wings of nearly-nothing

Were at odds with all the rest

That were forged by flaming meteors

And blazed with fiery strength

But she didn’t need such power

Just a gentleness instead

For she sought the ones who fought

A raging battle in their heads

She found them in their darkness

In their all-consuming night

So she spread out her translucent wings

And let in pools of light

She saw them in their slumber

Whispering forgotten dreams

So she plucked a wish from in her wings

And threw it to the breeze

She recognised their winter

Frozen cold and bleak with snow

So she wrapped them in the embers

Of her incandescent glow

And the rest thought she was broken

With her wings so nearly dead

But if they had watched her closely

They’d have realised every thread

In her wings of seeds and sunsets

Simply echoed loud her cause -

To convince the lost and desperate

Everything can be reborn

*******

Becky Hemsley 2021

Gorgeous artwork by Kat Fedora Artist

‘Ouroboros’ is from Talking to the Wild

https://a.co/d/8B3tzhb

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A STREET CALLED MEMORY LANE Becky Hemsley

"A STREET CALLED MEMORY LANE"
by Becky Hemsley 2020

He walked across the field

When he came upon a stile

And he almost turned around

‘Cause he’d already walked for miles

But then he heard a melody

That made him carry on

It was the faint and distant echo

Of an old familiar song

He walked towards the music

And it led him past a sign

To a row of houses starting at

The number ninety nine

And from that house the scent

Of childhood dinners filled the air

And he smelled the heady perfume

That his grandma used to wear

The next house on the path

Was somehow number thirty four

And it had a stained glass window

Of a rose within the door

He peered in through the window

Of the next house on the street

And he saw familiar photographs

Upon the mantelpiece

He heard some children laughing

So he looked over the fence

And he saw a young boy playing

In the garden with his friends

They were splashing in a paddling pool

And playing with a ball

They were practising their cartwheels

And their handstands at the wall

And something like… nostalgia

Made him stand there for a while

‘Til he tore himself away and turned

And headed for the stile

And it was then he passed the signpost

With an all-familiar name

And he realised he had just walked down

A street called

Memory Lane

*******

Becky Hemsley 2020

Artwork by Pete Rumney

alternative title is "Back in Time" is from Talking to the Wild: https://a.co/d/dUUEv7n

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