THE CORNER 4 WOMEN

Saturday, 6 April 2024

THE THREE REMEMBRANCES by Tahlia Hunter

"THE THREE REMEMBRANCES" by Tahlia Hunter

"The first time you remember them,

you feel nothing but emptiness,

for you are mourning the loss of one

whose absence can never be replaced.

The second time you remember them,

you feel nostalgic,

recalling treasured memories

of precious moments shared,

with the person you so loved

who is no longer physically there.

But the third time you remember them,

you smile,

as you only feel love.

For you know in your heart that only love is real:

All else is a temporary experience.

And they have never truly left you,

for they remain with you always in spirit.

And you know that you were so lucky and blessed to have shared those precious moments with them while they lasted. And they will feel lucky watching over you as you go on to experience many more.

And they would not wish to see you remain sad,

but for you to experience every single joy and miracle that life has to offer

and celebrating your life

is the best way to celebrate them.

And reaching this moment

may take a week, a month, a year, or a lifetime,

but with every breath you take and smile you muster,

you are one step closer,

and one step closer to being reunited with them."

*****

Words by Tahlia Hunter

https://www.facebook.com/TahliaHunterBlog

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Artwork by Bernie Anderson

SILENCE by Becky Hemsley

"SILENCE"
by Becky Hemsley

It was the Sunday market

And as I wandered down the aisles

An older woman weaving

Made me stop and watch awhile

She wove a little blanket

But the thread she used was odd

For it wasn’t wool or yarn she used

But words pulled from a pot

She threaded up her needle

With a string of “I love you”

And she wove them into “help me”

Braided with “I miss you too”

Then “no” a hundred times

Rose from her pot as silver thread

And I saw that she had named her stall

The Blankets of Regret

And as I stood and watched her then

I saw “I love you” fade

And “help me” slowly disappeared

And “no” began to wane

Her blanket had become a quilt

Of pale translucency

And I asked if I could hold this thing

That I could barely see

I expected light and air

But it lay heavy in my hands

And I had to ask about it

For I had to understand

So I asked “what are you weaving?”

And she told me “everyday

I weave the silence left by words

We’re too afraid to say”

******

Becky Hemsley 2020

Artwork by Olga Haidamaka

'Silence' is from my first collection:

https://a.co/d/dL4DwIk

ASKING GOD A QUESTION by Joanne Boyle

"ASKING GOD A QUESTION"
by Joanne Boyle

"Can I ask you a question God?"

"yes, what is it that's on your mind?"

"why do my loved ones say they lost me,

like a game of hide and find?"

God smiled and raised his brows.

He had answered this before.

It was a question the spirits asked

once they came through heavens door.

"When you where an earthling,

before moving here with me.

Your presence was was not just felt,

you were someone they could see.

They feel like something is missing,

and as they walk around,

they are looking for what it is

but lost can not be found.

You are still a part of them,

like they are a part of you.

You are in their every thought

and in their hearts too."

"So, why don't they say, instead,

God found my loved one today.

He came and took them to heaven,

and said that they can stay?"

At that, God just smiled, and said

"they know, and they will find one day.

another version of themselves

because its those that lost their way."

*****

Joanne Boyle Heartfelt

art by Steffi Krenzek

CHAPTERS by Becky Hemsley

"CHAPTERS"
by Becky Hemsley

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

Beautiful painting by Snehal Pendurkar - paintingbysnehal

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

BATTLE by Becky Hemsley

"BATTLE"
by Becky Hemsley

When life feels like a battle

In the middle of a war

And your battle cry’s a whisper

‘Cause your voice has lost its roar

When the shield that you carry

Can’t protect you like it should

And you’re struggling to fire your arrows

Like you normally would

When your armour weighs you down

And you are battered and you’re bruised

When the enemy’s advancing

And you’re sure you’re going to lose

When battle feels exhausting…

Put down your sword and rest

Save your energy

Because the war’s not over yet

But also look around you

To the others in the fray

And listen for the army

That is calling out your name

Tell them you are wounded

That you stumbled and you fell

Because beneath your armour

There’s a chance they cannot tell

Let them cover you

Say that you’ll do the same for them

When they are hurt and wounded

And your strength returns again

For now, retreat a little

From the weariness of war

But remember, you’ve survived

Each battle you have fought before

So give yourself some credit

‘Cause you’ve made it all this way

And I promise you are strong enough

To fight another day

********

Becky Hemsley 2021

Artwork by Dmitry O via saatchiart.com

'Battle' is from 'What the Wild Replied' https://a.co/d/0FETvAC

*****

Becky Hemsley https://www.facebook.com/talkingtothewild

Thursday, 4 April 2024

HOLD THE SPACE YOU NEED by Becky Hemsley

"HOLD THE SPACE YOU NEED"
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 https://www.facebook.com/talkingtothewild

Beautiful artwork by Michele Dodds

THE EMPTY PLACE by Joanne Boyle

"THE EMPTY PLACE"
by Joanne Boyle

They talk about the empty chair,

but they forget about that Place.

The one that no one enters,

so it remains an empty space.

They talk about the empty chair

because it was once were someone sat,

but what about those Places?

The ones you were always at!

They talk about the empty chair,

but what about the life you left behind?

I search so many places,

in the hope that you I find.

They talk about the empty chair,

the one that I can't see, but

what about that empty place

that lives inside of me?

They talk about the empty chair,

they rock it to and fro, but

there is no change in movement,

in the places that i go.

They talk about the empty chair,

because they can not see that place.

The one where there is only I, and

the memory of your face.

*****

Joanne Boyle Heartfelt

art by Steffi Krenzek