THE CORNER 4 WOMEN

Tuesday 12 December 2023

PIECES by Becky Hemsley 2022

"PIECES"
by Becky Hemsley 2022

I watched her drop the mirror

Saw her face adopt the fear

That she would now be destined

To bad luck for seven years

But she looked at the pieces

There were hundreds, maybe more

And she noticed how they caught the light

In ways they’d not before

The light was bouncing everywhere

All spirited and bright

A hundred little mirrors

Bringing all that light to life

So she picked up all the pieces

Whilst she still had every chance

And she turned her bad luck

Into opportunities to dance

And if you ever watched her

You’d have noticed how she smiled

How she moved and shimmered

Like her soul had come alive

And if you didn’t know her secret

You would not consider

That the glitterball she danced around

Was once a broken mirror

*******

Becky Hemsley 2022

Image created with Fotor

'Pieces' is from my second collection

https://a.co/d/5W7gY0x

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INSIDE STORY by Becky Hemsley 2020

"INSIDE STORY"
by Becky Hemsley 2020

They saw her in the library

Discarded on a chair

And her glossy, shiny cover

Made them notice she was there

They picked her up and held her

For a minute, maybe three

And they said she was exquisite

The most beautiful they’d seen

They thought not of her pages

Simply stared at her in awe

Then they put her on the bookshelf

As they headed out the door

So they never knew the words she chose

To mark her journey’s start

And they didn’t read the reams and reams

Of kindness at her heart

They didn’t read the things she hid

In pages left untouched

Or the hellos and goodbyes she’d said

To people that she loved

They didn’t read the chapters

Where she set herself apart

And they never read the lines she wrote

Of how they’d played their part

They didn’t turn the pages

On her struggles and her strengths

And they missed the ripped-up paper

Where she’d torn herself to shreds

They never read the parts

About the places she had been

Or the people she had helped

Or all the wonders she had seen

So when anybody asked them

What it was that she was like

They realised they had no idea

What she was like inside

See, they’d told her she was beautiful

Because of how she looked

But they’d just admired her cover

And they’d never read her book

*******

Becky Hemsley 2020

Incredible artwork once again by Elisabeth on Earth

aptly titled ‘Once Upon a Time’

Inside Story is from Talking to the Wild

https://a.co/d/eKD0Hy6

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STILL by Becky Hemsley 2023

"STILL"
by Becky Hemsley 2023

I can’t say I loved you. I just can’t

Because it makes it sound as if my love is past tense. Gone, finished, ended.

And that is so far from the truth.

My love is not in the past. It will never be gone.

I love you now. Still.

You didn’t take all this love away with you. It stays. It lingers.

Some days it jumps up and hits me in the face just to remind me that it is still here. Still persevering.

Some days it nudges me. Challenges me to keep going. Daring me to find the strength to get through the day.

But mostly, it just resonates inside of me with everything I do. With every step forward and every glance back. Every close of my eyes. Every breath.

My love is not dependent on you being here.

There is nowhere far enough,

and nothing permanent enough

to stop me from loving you.

So I will not say I loved you.

Because I love you.

Still.

*****

Becky Hemsley 2023

https://www.facebook.com/talkingtothewild

Lovely artwork by Pete Rumney

'Still' is from When I Am Gone - poems for grief and loss

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Sunday 10 December 2023

A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN by Lizzy Jayne

“A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN” by Lizzy Jayne

“Are you sure this is the right door to heaven?” asked the little cat. “It looks a little shabby and not how I imagined it to be.”

“I think so,” said the little girl.

She pulled ajar the big, heavy door and a blinding light burst through the gap.

The little girl took a peek. “Oh MY!” she gasped.

“Let me see!” said Benjamin Puddles, jumping around excitedly. But the little girl didn’t reply. “What’s it like little girl? Little girl, are you listening?”

But, she wasn’t listening. She was silenced by the awe that met her eyes.

“It really is more beautiful than even we could imagine. And you were right, little cat, I won’t need my scarf!”

“Can we go in?” asked the cat.

The little girl gently closed the door again and turned to her friends.

“One day, little ones, but not just yet.

“But why?” wailed Puddles.

“Well, if you go inside now, you won’t want to come out again; it’s just so beautiful,” said the little girl. “We still have much work to do to help others find their hearts, so they can find their way here as well. Come on, I’ll tell you all about what I saw on the way home.”

The three friends turned to go, feeling sad to leave, yet their hearts were full to bursting, knowing one day they would return and stay forever…

Will you be there too?

Original art & Short Story by Lizzie Jayne - The Heart Gang (c)

Art by Lizzie Jayne

(c) ABLJ & Books by Lizzie Jayne

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THE SHATTERED CANDLE by Liz Liles Wagoner

"THE SHATTERED CANDLE"
by Liz Liles Wagoner

Tonight, I walked in from the store with my arms full and a brand new candle in my bag. As I struggled to get it all on the counter, one bag dropped and I heard the glass break. My brand new candle was ruined as the glass shattered. Frustrated, I was ready to throw the whole thing away. My husband refused to let me do so. “It will still light; it will still serve its’ purpose,” he stated. Immediately, I began to argue back.... “But it’s broken and ugly and glass is everywhere. It’s just not the same.”

I walked away and when I came back, he had placed the candle on the counter and lit the wick.

My heart immediately was drawn to the light. How often do we do this in our own lives or with others? Things don’t turn out the way we want them to. Plans fail. Dreams shatter. Goals hit the floor. People break our hearts. And we are ready to throw the whole dang thing in the trash. Even though it can still light.... still shine.... still bring the fragrance of goodness. It just may not be pretty or in the package that we wanted or imagined.

Tonight, may we all be reminded that even in the brokenness and cutting edge of life, there is still goodness and purpose and light. We simply must be willing to not throw it all away and allow the redemption to take place. There are times that our story will simply speak a little louder and impact even more people when we are willing to allow the broken places of our life and story to shine for others to see and understand.

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Hosting Sad by Donna Ashworth

"Hosting Sad"

by Donna Ashworth

Sometimes I wake up sad. For no reason.

And I know, as soon as my eyes open, that today, I am sad.

I can choose positive thoughts, have a cold shower, run on the treadmill, but I will still be sad.

And counting my blessings, on days like this, makes me even more sad.

How lucky I am and how tenuous that is.

How others are not so blessed and how unfair that is.

And I’ve learned to accept these little bouts of sad, or soul-flu, as I have now come to call them.

They are not within my control, this I know.

I don’t fear them anymore, they can’t harm me - because I don’t ‘become’ them.

I just let my ‘sad’ in the door and say “hey, how are you, take a seat…but don’t stay too long please, I have things to do.”

And I rumble along in my mental kitchen, making tea, emptying the dishwasher. And my sad sits there and just exists, without judgement or acrimony. Just acceptance.

I know she is many things, you see, other than just sad. She is love, she is grief. She is fear, she is weariness and worry, and really, she puts up with rather a lot in this life.

So I give her a cup for tea. And listen to her sorrows, until she’s ready to go back outside again.

Sometimes I wake up and sad has already let herself in.

But I don’t scold her for that.

She’ll go soon.

And really, she deserves a warm place, every now and again, this world gives her much to bear.

Sometimes, I wake up sad.

For no reason.

And that’s okay.

P.S: when sad is visiting, I look like exactly the same. You would never know I’m hosting her…unless you ask.

Donna Ashworth

linktr.ee/

donnaashworth

www.donnaashworth.com

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But it made you strong! by Becky Hemsley 2023

“But it made you strong!” by Becky Hemsley 2023

How often we are tempted to say this to someone when they’ve been through a difficult time.

And it may well be the case.

But chances are that they are feeling anything but strong. They are likely feeling

exhausted

shattered

weak.

And they need someone who recognises that. Someone who - for just a while - can be the strong one for them. Can offer them a shoulder to cry on and an arm to support them.

Yes, when they feel like that, they need to rest.

They need to recharge, recoup and regain the strength they’re being told they have inside of them.

Because what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. But it sometimes very nearly kills us -

exhausts us

shatters us

weakens us.

They didn’t want to have to be strong.

They wanted life to be kinder.

And as it wasn’t, it might help them more than we realise

If we bring the kindness instead.

******

Becky Hemsley 2023

Artwork created with Bing

‘Kindness’ is from 'Letter from Life' https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHL9MZC1...

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Saturday 9 December 2023

I AM NO LONGER WAITING by Mary Anne Perrone

"I AM NO LONGER WAITING"
by Mary Anne Perrone

I am no longer waiting for a special occasion; I burn the best candles on ordinary days.

I am no longer waiting for the house to be clean; I fill it with people who understand that even dust is Sacred.

I am no longer waiting for everyone to understand me; It’s just not their task

I am no longer waiting for the perfect children; my children have their own names that burn as brightly as any star.

I am no longer waiting for the other shoe to drop; It already did, and I survived.

I am no longer waiting for the time to be right; the time is always now.

I am no longer waiting for the mate who will complete me; I am grateful to be so warmly, tenderly held.

I am no longer waiting for a quiet moment; my heart can be stilled whenever it is called.

I am no longer waiting for the world to be at peace; I unclench my grasp and breathe peace in and out.

I am no longer waiting to do something great; being awake to carry my grain of sand is enough.

I am no longer waiting to be recognized; I know that I dance in a holy circle.

I am no longer waiting for Forgiveness.

I believe I Believe.

~ Mary Anne Perrone

Photo by: Philippe Vogelenzang Photography

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