Tuesday 2 January 2024

THE FIGHT by Becky Hemsley 2023


"THE FIGHT"
by Becky Hemsley 2023

They’d heard she was a warrior.
And so they pictured her fresh from the fight - with flowing hair and dirt etched on her face. With fitted armour and a sword in her hand.
What they hadn’t realised was that she looked like the woman stood next to them in the supermarket. With messy hair and hurt etched on her face. With creased jeans and a coffee in her hand.
Because she’d been fighting a battle they knew nothing about. And even though it didn’t look like much of a victory to them, it really was.
That she was there. She was fighting. She was strong.
And no matter what she, or the battle, or the victory might have looked like to anyone else,
the fact remained…
She was a warrior.
******
Words Becky Hemsley 2023
Gorgeous artwork by Olya Haydmaka (@olya_haydamaka on Instagram)
'The Fight' is from my fourth collection here: https://a.co/d/iuz9E5M

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MAYBE--JUST MAYBE by Becky Hemsley 2024


"MAYBE--JUST MAYBE"
by Becky Hemsley 2024

Maybe this will be 'your year'.
Maybe it won't.
Maybe you are exhausted from 2023 and you don't have the energy to jump into 2024, determined to claim it for your own.
Maybe you're happy for 2024 to pass gently, with no huge mountains to climb or valleys to negotiate.
Without the peaks and troughs
and the highs and lows.
Maybe you're simply ready for 2024 to be consistently peaceful and calm.
There is something incredibly freeing about feeling content with where you are. Without the need to keep chasing more, more, more.
If you keep climbing mountains, soon enough you'll run out of sky.
And when you do, you might realise that you never really stopped to look back at how far you've come; you never really paused to admire the view.
If there's a mountain in your midst and you're determined to climb it,
then go for it. Let this be 'your year'.
But know too that this can be 'your year' if you simply reach the end of it
happy and at peace.
Because life is not defined by the giant peaks and the constant climb.
It is defined by the tiny, every day things that add up to great contentment.
So you don't need to take the wheel if you're too exhausted to drive.
You don't need to steer this year away from where you are,
if where you are makes you happy.
Maybe 'your year' will see you climbing mountains.
But maybe - just maybe -
it will also see you sitting back
and enjoying just how far you've come.
*****
Becky Hemsley 2024
Beautiful artwork by Ed Perkins (@ededperkins on Instagram)

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THANK YOU by Tahlia Hunter


"THANK YOU"
by Tahlia Hunter

And if you were to come
face to face
with your future self,
I imagine that they would
wrap you in a warm embrace
and whisper the following words to you:
"Thank you for the mistakes you made,
so that I could discover what it means to be wise.
Thank you for the moments of doubt you faced,
so that I could discover what it means to have faith.
Thank you for the wrong roads you took,
so that I could discover what it means to find my way.
Thank you for the grudges you held,
so that I could discover what it means to forgive.
Thank you for the masks you wore,
so that I could discover what it means to be authentic.
Thank you for the moments you took for granted,
so that I could discover what it means to be grateful.
Thank you for the pride you displayed,
so that I could discover what it means to be humble.
Thank you for the times you were judgemental,
so that I could discover what it means to be accepting.
Thank you for the fears you faced,
so that I could discover what it means to be brave.
Thank you for the conflicts you navigated,
so that I could discover what it means to find harmony.
Thank you for the storms you weathered,
so that I could discover what it means to be strong.
And thank you for the rejections you faced,
so that I could discover what it means to truly love,
not only others, but myself,
and life itself.
I look back on you
not with shame,
but with pride and admiration
for without you
I would not be who I am today."


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Artwork by Fromdrawing, Hana Jang

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.


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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.

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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

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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:

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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.
Author Maureen Kwiat Meshenberg ©
Artist Catrin Welz Stein

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"CAPABLE CHILDREN" by Brooke Hampton

"CAPABLE CHILDREN" by  Brooke Hampton I posted a photo of our 13-year-old doing her end of the month calculations. She handles our...