THE CORNER 4 WOMEN

Tuesday 2 January 2024

The Haunting at Ravenwood Manor by English With Mia

"The Haunting at Ravenwood Manor"

by English With Mia

Once upon a time, in a small town nestled amidst tall trees and rolling hills, there stood an old mansion known as Ravenwood Manor. It was a massive house with creaky doors, dusty rooms, and windows that seemed to stare out like curious eyes.

The townsfolk whispered stories about Ravenwood Manor. They said it was haunted by ghosts of the past, that eerie sounds echoed in its halls when the moon was high in the sky.

One brave soul in the town was a young boy named Tommy. He was curious and fearless, and one day, he decided to explore the mysterious Ravenwood Manor.

With his flashlight in hand and his heart beating fast, Tommy stepped onto the overgrown path leading to the old mansion. The wind whispered through the trees, and the leaves rustled, making him feel as if the house itself was whispering secrets.

As Tommy pushed the creaky front door, it groaned open, revealing a dark and dusty foyer. He cautiously stepped inside, his footsteps echoing in the silence.

He explored room after room, each one filled with old furniture draped in dusty sheets. The air felt heavy, and the walls seemed to hold stories of days long gone.

In one room, Tommy found an old, cracked portrait hanging crookedly on the wall. The eyes in the painting followed his every move, giving him a shiver down his spine.

As he continued exploring, Tommy heard a faint sound, like someone softly playing the piano. He followed the sound to a grand room with a grand piano covered in a thin layer of dust.

To his surprise, the keys of the piano started to play by themselves, creating a haunting melody that echoed through the halls. Tommy stood there, mesmerized by the ghostly music.

Suddenly, a ghostly figure appeared at the piano. It was a lady in a flowing gown, her eyes filled with sorrow. She looked at Tommy with a gentle smile before disappearing into the mist.

Filled with wonder and a little fear, Tommy left Ravenwood Manor, the haunting melody still lingering in his mind. He never forgot the ghostly encounter and often wondered about the lady in the flowing gown, and the stories she held within her.

From that day on, the townsfolk saw Ravenwood Manor in a different light. They believed that the ghostly figure was not there to scare but to share stories from a time long past a time filled with love, loss, and a haunting melody that echoed through the halls of the old mansion.

https://www.facebook.com/MiaEnglishTeacher

Brought to you by https://thecorner4women.com together with our sister website http://www.nicheebookcollections.com and our growing e-book library available FREE, through our Newsletter sign up page here:-

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

Monday 1 January 2024

WHEN I SAY HAPPY NEW YEAR by Donna Ashworth

"WHEN I SAY HAPPY NEW YEAR"
by Donna Ashworth

When I say ‘happy new year’,

I’m not for a moment,

expecting this to occur,

for that is not possible,

a year must be all things.

Happiness must come and go,

like the tides and the winds,

just as sadness,

and all the emotions in between.

When I say ‘happy new year’,

I’m really wishing you,

a baseline of peace,

of gratitude.

Because if you can sit with these things,

for the most part,

happiness will thrive,

when it does arrive,

and sadness will know its place in the mix.

If you can nourish these things,

daily,

you will also grow hope,

for it flourishes in such soil.

And hope is the key,

to this enigmatic state

of ‘happiness’ we seek.

When I say ‘happy new year’,

I’m really wishing you more happy days,

than sad days,

more joy than misery,

more laughter than tears…

and the wisdom to accept,

that they all belong.

Happy new year, my friends.

Happy new year.

~ Donna Ashworth

[Art: Kinuko Y. Craft]

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

BEFORE YOU GO MAMMA by Joanne Boyle

"BEFORE YOU GO MAMMA"
by Joanne Boyle

Before you go Mamma,

and leave this world behind,

take with you our memories,

there's lots for you to find.

Before you go Mamma,

let me hold your hand once more,

I don't want you to forget,

when you walk through heavens door.

Before you go Mamma,

smell the Scent I wear,

take a piece of me with you,

so you'll know that I am there.

Before you go Mamma,

let me put a tissue in your pocket,

to remind you of my tears,

and the hair that's in your locket.

Before you go Mamma,

will you look into my eyes?

so you won't forget the colour,

or the truths behind the lies.

Before you go Mamma,

will you promise me just this?

That you will return each night,

to place a little kiss?

Before you go Mamma,

let me wrap you in my love.

Keep it with you always,

as you move to the world above.

Bye Bye Mamma,

until we meet again.

Now go toward the light,

and free yourself from pain.

Joanne Boyle

https://www.facebook.com/poeminabottlle

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

POSSIBILITIES by Becky Hemsley 2022

"POSSIBILITIES"
by Becky Hemsley 2022

Remember as a child

When you’d walk amongst the trees

And you’d find a stick that held

So many possibilities?

It could’ve been an arrow

It could’ve been a sword

It could’ve been a telescope,

A microphone, an oar

It could’ve been a hook you used

To catch things from afar

And it could’ve been a catapult

That launched a shooting star

It could’ve been a flute

That played a song you knew so well

And it could’ve been a wand

Ready to cast a thousand spells

Well, now what if I told you

That the stick was all of these?

Because there lies a certain

Sense of magic in the trees

A magic that reminds us

We are not too old to play

That helps us see the awe and wonder

Wrapped in every day

See, the forest is our playground

And the paths between the trees

Are endless new beginnings

Of adventures to be seized

So grab that stick and row to shore

Then search the midnight sky

Play your favourite song

Then cast a spell that makes you fly

Catch a shooting star

Then launch it back beyond the clouds

Search for hidden gold

And mark an X upon the ground

Remember how it feels to live

Like you’ve nothing to lose

When just a simple stick can be

Whatever you might choose

Then seize those new beginnings

Strewn across the forest floor

‘Cause adventure’s out there waiting

So, what are you waiting for?

******

It feels like a fitting day to share a poem about 'Possibilities' and new beginnings

Becky Hemsley 2022

Stunning artwork by KEITH Proctor

This is from my second collection:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1739824539...

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

Sunday 31 December 2023

TRANSISIONING INTO A NEW YEAR by Maureen Kwiat Meshenberg

"TRANSISIONING INTO A NEW YEAR"
by Maureen Kwiat Meshenberg

When the clock struck midnight, did we leave the last year behind us, or did in become a purposeful growth into a change that imprinted on our hearts forever.

When we rise in this new day...waking to a year folding into the next. Nothing and yet everything will change. As the time of yesterdays transcend into memories, time breaks into the seconds; we now breathe in our choices. Our choices to be gentle to ourselves and claim ourselves to the commitment of love, to the commitment of kindness, towards ourselves, towards one another.

When the Winter becomes cold and dreary, let our hearts be comforted by the light that cuts through the dim in our lives. We wake, we rise, with a deliberate choice, what will it be?

For the transitioning from one year into the next does not cease the ache of who we are, just as it does not cease the resilience of who we are.

We become like the bird song that sings every morning whether the clouds are grey with melancholy or the sun breaks the dark with brightness.

Just like the seasons that boldly exclaim their presence. In the winter of our folding inwards, we expand outward like the flower's bloom that will come in spring. We will break the ground in the earth of our souls, grow and become who we are meant to be.

Come now, as we are, not with expectations but a conscious choice to realize we are a part of the whole and the whole is one. In our belonging to this new day,

belonging to this new morning,

belonging to this new year....

belonging to each other.

https://www.facebook.com/Heartcalling

Artist Catrin Welz Stein

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

THE ABANDONED ASYLUM by English With Mia

"THE ABANDONED ASYLUM"
by English With Mia

In a small town surrounded by lush forests, there stood an old building with a haunting history. It was once a place where people who were unwell in their minds went to seek help. But as years passed, the building fell into disrepair, and it became known as the Abandoned Asylum.

Tommy was a curious boy, always seeking adventures. He had heard eerie stories about the abandoned asylum from the older kids in the neighbourhood. One bright and sunny afternoon, filled with curiosity, Tommy decided to explore the mysterious building.

As he approached the asylum, he noticed broken windows and overgrown vines covering the walls. The rusty gates creaked as he pushed them open, creating an eerie sound that echoed through the empty corridors.

Tommy cautiously stepped inside. The air felt musty, and the light barely trickled in through the dusty windows. He could hear the sound of his own footsteps echoing in the vast emptiness. Every creak and groan made him feel as though the old building was whispering its forgotten stories.

As he explored further, he noticed faded paintings on the walls, remnants of what might have been cheerful decorations long ago. Cobwebs hung from the ceilings, and old furniture lay scattered around, covered in layers of dust.

Tommy's heart raced with both excitement and fear. He had heard tales of ghostly sightings in the asylum. He tiptoed cautiously, trying to shake off the uneasiness.

In one room, he found an old piano covered in a white sheet. With trembling hands, Tommy pulled off the sheet and touched the keys. The piano let out a ghostly sound as if trying to tell its own story.

Suddenly, a faint whisper echoed in the room. Tommy's heart skipped a beat, and he turned around, but there was no one there. He tried to shake off the fear, convincing himself it was just the wind playing tricks.

But then, a door at the end of the corridor creaked open. Tommy's heart raced as he cautiously approached the door. He peeked inside and saw a small room filled with old photographs scattered on the floor.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he picked up one of the photographs. It was a black-and-white picture of a group of smiling people wearing old-fashioned clothes. Tommy wondered who they were and what stories they held.

As he stood there, lost in thoughts, he heard a distant sound—footsteps echoing in the corridor. Fear gripped him, and he quickly dashed out of the abandoned asylum, feeling relieved to be back under the warm sunshine.

Tommy had his adventure, and although he didn't see any ghosts, the mystery of the abandoned asylum stayed with him. He realized that some places hold stories that may never be fully understood, but they spark curiosity and imagination in those who dare to explore them.

https://www.facebook.com/MiaEnglishTeacher

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

EACH STEP OF THE PATH by Tahlia Hunter

"EACH STEP OF THE PATH"
by Tahlia Hunter

“You may think to yourself,

‘I have not travelled that far,

for I still have so far to go,’

but you must remember, my dear,

that progress is not linear,

and each small step you take forward

completely catapults your growth

such that you have already come

far further than you may believe,

and the dreams you wish to achieve

are more possible than you might think,

for the destination you wish to reach

is not a distant place

but a way of being

that is found in each step of the path.

And so, once in a while,

it may be worthwhile

to practice seeing yourself

not through the eyes of all you have yet to be

but all you have already become.”

Words by Tahlia Hunter https://www.facebook.com/TahliaHunterBlog

Artwork by Katarína Vavrová Artist

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

You Were Made for This by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

"You Were Made for This"

by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.

Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely.

It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing.

We know that it does not take everyone on Earth to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.

One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul.

Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times.

The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire.

To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these -- to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity.

Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it.

If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.

There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate

[Image: Die Schöne Philosophin (The Beautiful Philosopher) oil on canvas by German portrait painter Wilhelm Kray (1828-1889).]

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