THE CORNER 4 WOMEN

Thursday 1 February 2024

IN THAT SPACE BEYOND THE DOOR by Becky Hemsley

"IN THAT SPACE BEYOND THE DOOR"
by Becky Hemsley

I once designed a teapot

It was short and it was stout

It had a handle but I didn’t

Hollow out the spout

So when I filled it up

And tried to pour a cup of tea

It didn’t pour a thing

And it was useless as could be

One time I found an empty box

Or empty I assumed

But when I opened up the lid

There wasn’t any room

For me to store the things

I had been saving for so long

There simply wasn’t space for them;

No place where they belonged

And once I found a door

I didn’t know where it would lead

I searched the room around me

But I couldn’t find the key

And so I leant against it

Sad that I could not explore

Whatever might be waiting

In the space behind the door

And as I think about the box,

The door, the pot of tea,

I realise how important

Sometimes nothingness can be

How there’s magic in the space

Between asleep and wide awake

There’s peace within the silence

Of the pauses that we take

There’s joy in quiet thoughts

About the past; of what has been

There’s beauty in the standing still

To see what can be seen

There’s something quite exciting

‘Bout the space between the stars

And in those waiting moments

When a film’s about to start

There’s wonder in a balloon

That fills and rises with the air

There’s such a lot that we can feel

When not a lot is there

So hold the space you need my friend

And don’t apologise

Your space is where your wonder lives

And where your magic lies

It’s where you learn to breathe again

Where dreams can dare to soar

And you never know what’s waiting

In that space beyond the door

*****

Becky Hemsley 2023

https://www.facebook.com/talkingtothewild

Beautiful artwork by Elisabeths gylne pensel

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HOW ARE YOU? by Becky Hemsley 2021

“HOW ARE YOU?" by Becky Hemsley 2021

What time will you get in tonight?

Text me when you’re home

Be careful if you’re driving

Or if you’re out alone

Shout me if you need me

Or call me anytime

Hey, remember when we did that thing

And laughed until we cried?

Take a coat, it’s raining

Or shelter here with me

Let’s watch your favourite movie

I’ve made your favourite tea

I saw this and I thought of you

It really made me smile

Just checking in, I hope you’re well

I know it’s been a while

Have some fun at school today

But wear your hat - it’s cold

And look the road’s got busy now

So here’s my hand to hold”

We always hear and say these things

But rarely do we see

They’re just lots of little ways

Of saying what we really mean

See, if you listen carefully,

You’ll hear them everywhere -

All the messages of “I love you”

“You’re important” and “I care”

******

Becky Hemsley 2021

Image by rawpixel.com

'How are you?' is from my second collection - What the Wild Replied

https://amzn.eu/d/6NrikFd

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

WHAT THEY WERE PREVIOUSLY UNABLE TO...by Tahlia Hunter

"WHAT THEY WERE PREVIOUSLY UNABLE TO..."
by Tahlia Hunter

trigger warning: a poem about grief

We grieve those we love who have passed,

feeling that they are lost,

but in the same way that a person travelling far away from us is not lost,

and a person graduating to the next phase of life is not gone,

they are never truly lost,

but rather they are closer to us than before,

as from their higher conscious perspective,

they may see what they were previously unable to see,

hear what they were previously unable to hear,

and understand what they were previously unable to understand.

Words by Tahlia Hunter

https://www.facebook.com/TahliaHunterBlog

Artwork by Bettina Baldassari - BettiPigna

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

CRUMBS by Becky Hemsley 2023

"CRUMBS"
by Becky Hemsley 2023

Promise me something…

Promise me that you’ll never let anyone deprive you of the very basics of humanity.

Never let them leave you so hungry that you will accept just

scraps of love

crumbs of respect

and tiny morsels of kindness

People who are starving will eat anything. But that doesn’t mean they should have to.

You are deserving of so much more.

A banquet of love

a whole feast of respect

and a full spread of kindness

So promise me you won’t go hungry. And if anyone tries to deprive you, remember this:

We should all have enough self-love, self-respect and self-kindness to share. So if anyone tries to starve you…

It’s because they are hungry themselves.

********

Becky Hemsley 2023

Image by rawpixel.com

'Crumbs' is from 'Letters from Life': https://a.co/d/1uOkn99

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

Tuesday 30 January 2024

Inside Every Breath I Take

“Inside Every Breath I Take” (author unknown)

I’m just a child with closed eyes

Never seeing the world as its eternity dies

Innocence is just an illusion that plays

Until the realness of life of its darkness that stays

Inside every breath this man now takes

And sowing the seeds of my many mistakes

But, there are so many times I get mad at my fate

Constantly testing me with doubts about myself, love, and hate

As a boy, I crossed the line into a know-it-all teen

My naivetes taught me well what life and death mean

That death’s timing was off when 5 plates became 4

The eyes never see the scars but the pains are always more

My first drink was an illusion in another world to feel

There is always a price to pay when reality turns real

But there’s a temporary peace in the day for my hate and pain

I feel alive in my memories but with nothing to gain

To depress my depression I walk along the broken road

Finding new ways for my soul, to take away my heavy load

From this older man of broken years inside my every breath

Wiser not but still able, another day away from death

My ignorance is dying right inside of me

One step too many, my broken soul to never be

I hurt then I cry, then I overindulge in Hope’s smile

The broken road that I walk on, I’ll never see the last mile.

There are too many walls closing in, that are suffocating my head

Every night I search for an opening but it’s insanity that I’m fed

So I kill a black rose just to smell the freedom it exudes

A moment on the hand of a clock then back to my sullen mood

That I’m familiar with, so there’s no need to smile at a penny’s lost face

I’m a child in a reflection of mistakes, lost to myself and the whole human race

My eyes are now open to see my world lost to every decision that I’ve made

Living with my burdens of a hefty price but my death I have not yet paid.

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

I PITIED MY OLD CLASSMATE

"I PITIED MY OLD CLASSMATE"
(author unknown)

I met an old class mate, we had not seen each other for about 30 years.

When I saw him again, this time at a hotel lobby, he was looking simple. He wore simple clothes. I felt touched.

He walked up to me and was glad to see me again. But deep within me I was not impressed with his status compared to mine and poor me, I couldn't hide it.

We exchanged contact details and I could see the joy in him as he collected mine.

I told him I would drop him home in my brand new Range Rover and I pointed it to him. He declined and said he had already called for his car. It looked old, a 2001 Honda Accord.

I invited him the next day for lunch at my house. A part of me wanted to impress him, to show off my success and affluence to him; while another was to discuss opportunities and possibly help him.

He drove to Parkview where I lived. He looked impressed with my home. I had taken a heavy mortgage. In fact, I was heavily in debt. We had lunch. He told me he was into small business and particularly real Estate. I brought up more business discussions, but he didn't sound too interested. I asked him how I could help him. He said he was fine. I even told him if he was interested, I could help him secure some loans. He looked at me and smiled.

He told me he would invite me over soon to his place. His old car came for him. I was grateful to God for what I had. “Fingers are not all equal" I thought to myself. I was lucky. I worked in a good place.

Two weeks later, my wife and I went to see him in a remote area. Initially, my wife was reluctant to go because she was not impressed with the man's status as to warrant our visiting him in his house.

I was able to convince her that we were close friends in College.

We saw the Estate. We asked for directions to his home. Those leading us spoke his name with deference.

It was a simple but lovely home. A 4-bedroom bungalow. I saw 4 cars parked in front. We entered his home. It was simply elegant with a touch of class inside. He welcomed us warmly.

Lunch was well served.

His wife called him Papa Onos.

During lunch, he asked about my MD. He said they were friends. I saw a company gift on one of his tables nearby. That company owned about 38% shares where I worked. I enquired from him about it. He smiled. He told me he owned the company. He also owned the Estate.

I did not know when I called him sir. I was in awe of him too.

I had learnt a lesson in humility, A big one. Appearances are deceptive. He noticed my discomfort.

Driving back home, I was very quiet. My wife was humbled and extremely calm. I could perceive the thoughts in her mind. I looked at myself. Living on loans, heavy loans and showing off while someone who pays my salary is quite modest and living a simple life.

Indeed Deeper Rivers Flow In Majestic Silence.

Adjust your perception towards others this year.

Read, learn and take a good step of change.

Stop rating people based on their physical appearance or level of education.

Concentrate more on how to better your life, than on how to impress people.

Have a lovely day ahead.

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

IF ONLY by Joanne Boyle

"IF ONLY" by Joanne Boyle

If only I knew you wouldn't always be here,

to hold, to be held, to always be near.

To listen, to call, to know you are there,

when I had something I wanted to share.

If only I knew that one day you would go,

and there'd be more I'd want you to know.

A past, and a future. A lost and a found,

if I had only known you wouldn't be around.

If only I knew of the grief I would feel,

of the begging and hoping it wasn't real.

Of the years and times I took for granted,

of the growing seeds that you planted.

If only I knew of a moments value,

that it cost nothing just to be with you,

that the buried treasure was in my chest,

living proof that you were the best.

I wear a crown of memories on my head.

A love, a life that I now live instead.

I will represent each piece of you.

I'll live and love my whole day's through.

If only! If Only! If only I'd known.

I'd have clung so tight to stop you going,

but I am lucky to live without regret,

and proud of the memories I won't forget.

Joanne Boyle

https://www.facebook.com/poeminabottlle

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

Art by Steffi Krenzek

CHAPTERS by Becky Memsley

"CHAPTERS"
by Becky Memsley

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

Artwork created on Canva

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

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

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