THE CORNER 4 WOMEN

Monday 8 July 2024

"THE FLOWER OF MENDING" by Vachel Lindsay

"THE FLOWER OF MENDING"
by Vachel Lindsay

When Dragon-fly would fix his wings,

When Snail would patch his house,

When moths have marred the overcoat

Of tender Mister Mouse,

The pretty creatures go with haste

To the sunlit blue-grass hills

Where the Flower of Mending yields the wax

And webs to help their ills.

The hour the coats are waxed and webbed

They fall into a dream,

And when they wake the ragged robes

Are joined without a seam.

My heart is but a dragon-fly,

My heart is but a mouse,

My heart is but a haughty snail

In a little stony house.

Your hand was honey-comb to heal,

Your voice a web to bind.

You were a Mending Flower to me

To cure my heart and mind.

*********

by Vachel Lindsay

Art by Margaret Clark

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More articles by Su DeNyme (our resident writer) & John A Elliott are available here: https://www.nicheebookcollections.com/TC4W/ARTICLES.html

Sunday 7 July 2024

"THE MAN AND THE SNAIL" by Chima Dickson

"THE MAN AND THE SNAIL" by Chima Dickson

A Short Moral Story.

One day, a snail saw a man walking into the woods, then he began to scream for attention,

"Mister! Mister! Come over here! Please, do me a favour! Mister!"

The man suddenly stopped and walked towards the snail, asking,

"What's the matter with you?"

The snail whistled,

"Get me out of my shell, please. I'm so uncomfortable inside it. Please, get me out!"

The man stood, wondering for a short moment, then asked,

"But why? Isn't that funny? Why do you want to come out of your protective shell?"

The snail snapped,

“I told you I feel very uneasy inside it! It's a heavy burden for me to carry all alone! I want freedom! Please, pull me out of this nasty shell!"

The man leaned forward, then whispered,

"You're not serious, are you?"

The snail hollered suddenly,

"Well, I am very serious! I want to be free like other creatures, such as: the slug, the worm, the squid, the octopus, the snake, etc. I wish to move around freely in my environment, but I feel so trapped inside my cursed shell! So will you help me get out of my shell?"

The man paused for a moment, then uttered silently,

"Listen, while you seek freedom, you should understand that your shell is a gift from God to you, a unique gift. It protects you from the harsh environment and even from predators. However, if you choose to come out of it, you will lose that precious gift forever and you will never be able to get back inside it."

Unable to keep the impatience out of his voice, the snail wailed,

"Oh, Mister... I don't care about that, with all due respect! I just need you to do what I told you. Get me out of my shell, please. Now, please!"

The snail persistently begged for a long time, until the man agreed to his request. He picked him up and gently pulled him out of his shell. Although, the process was a bit painful, the snail was happy to have finally gained freedom.

However, as the excited snail began to crawl away, a hungry bird suddenly flew down, struck it hard and swallowed it immediately. Upon seeing that, the man shook his head in pity and walked away.

How easy it is for us to take our blessings for granted. We find it easy to complain and be ungrateful for what we have. We have been blessed in so many areas, yet so often, we dwell on what we don't have and strive to be someone else. We compare ourselves to others, forgetting our innate ability that makes us unique or stands us out from others. We shouldn't be desperate, selfish and cruel to ourselves. The truth is, when we don't understand our worth and value our lives, we tend to lose something special. We need to cultivate a culture where we count our blessings more than we complain. If we sat still and started counting our blessings and naming them one by one, we would never have time to complain or try to be like someone else.

********

Author: Chima_Dickson Official

https://tc4women.nicheebookcollections.com/NEWSLETTER-EBOOK-LIBRARY-SIGNUP.html We now have over 1900 e-books on our library shelves for your reading pleasure, so do come along and check us out.

More articles by Su DeNyme (our resident writer) & John A Elliott are available here: https://www.nicheebookcollections.com/TC4W/ARTICLES.html

"THE CLOUD ANGELS" by Joanne Boyle

"THE CLOUD ANGELS"

by Joanne Boyle

The cloud angels watched

from their window view.

Eagerly awaiting

to come down to you.

They had heard whispers

In the skies up above,

about mum's and dad's

who had a thing called love.

They longed for their turn.

They had heard it named birth.

They had read story books

about a place called earth.

They kept asking God,

"When can I go?"

and God always answered

"You will just know."

"How will we know?

Will grandparents be there?

Will they love us too

and will they care?"

God smiled at the children

that were yet to arrive.

Where love and protection

would help them to thrive.

Each child would watch,

but in the blink of an eye,

a cloud would transport them

down from the sky.

They were delivered

straight to a heart.

For a lifetime of love

about to start.

**********

Author ~Joanne Boyle~ Heartfelt

Art ~ Steffi Krenzek

https://tc4women.nicheebookcollections.com/NEWSLETTER-EBOOK-LIBRARY-SIGNUP.html We now have over 1900 e-books on our library shelves for your reading pleasure, so do come along and check us out.

More articles by Su DeNyme (our resident writer) & John A Elliott are available here: https://www.nicheebookcollections.com/TC4W/ARTICLES.html

"TURN BACK THE HANDS OF TIME" by Tahlia Hunter

"TURN BACK THE HANDS OF TIME"
by Tahlia Hunter

As I stare into the mirror of my past,

it whispers to me:

“Were you to erase every mistake you ever made

and every past version of yourself you ever were,

then every lesson that you once learned,

and the self that you are now

would cease to exist.

For with every mistake you learn from,

you make one less mistake.

And the mistakes of your past

no longer reflect the person you have become.

As with each mistake you make,

two versions of yourself are born:

who you were before,

and who you are now.

And the memory those from your past have of you

is merely a photograph,

as who you are today

is not who you were yesterday.

For were you to live the same day over again,

with the wisdom you have gained,

you would now choose differently.

This is how it is possible to live thousands of lifetimes within one.

And though you may wish to turn back the hands of time

and live your life once over,

how precious it is

that you may now live the rest of your life this way.

**********

Words by Tahlia Hunter

https://www.facebook.com/TahliaHunterBlog

Artwork by Christian Schloe Digital Artwork

https://tc4women.nicheebookcollections.com/NEWSLETTER-EBOOK-LIBRARY-SIGNUP.html We now have over 1900 e-books on our library shelves for your reading pleasure, so do come along and check us out.

More articles by Su DeNyme (our resident writer) & John A Elliott are available here: https://www.nicheebookcollections.com/TC4W/ARTICLES.html

"REMEMBER ME IN YOUR HEART" by Margaret Mead

"REMEMBER ME IN YOUR HEART"
by Margaret Mead

To the living, I am gone,

To the sorrowful, I will never return,

To the angry, I was cheated,

But to the happy, I am at peace,

And to the faithful, I have never left.

I cannot speak, but I can listen.

I cannot be seen, but I can be heard.

So as you stand upon a shore gazing at a beautiful sea,

As you look upon a flower and admire its simplicity,

Remember me.

Remember me in your heart:

Your thoughts, and your memories,

Of the times we loved,

The times we cried,

The times we fought,

The times we laughed.

For if you always think of me,

I will never have gone ..

**********

by Margaret Mead

Artist Credit ; Karel Hendee

https://tc4women.nicheebookcollections.com/NEWSLETTER-EBOOK-LIBRARY-SIGNUP.html We now have over 1900 e-books on our library shelves for your reading pleasure, so do come along and check us out.

More articles by Su DeNyme (our resident writer) & John A Elliott are available here: https://www.nicheebookcollections.com/TC4W/ARTICLES.html

"CHASING TOMORROW" by Becky Hemsley

"CHASING TOMORROW"
by Becky Hemsley

Today I woke and found myself

With less than yesterday

My life was missing things

I had assumed were here to stay

Things that had seemed little

‘Til they left a giant space,

Left an empty silence

And a longing in their place

And I began to understand

That when push came to shove

I longed for what I’d had

When I’d thought that was not enough

I’d always looked ahead

Was always chasing more and more

Growing so complacent

Of the things I once wished for

Running to tomorrow,

To the weekend, to next year

Forgetting I was lucky

For the things already here

And all this made me realise

That my life can’t buy more time

So maybe I should spend my time

Loving this life of mine

And maybe I’ll be grateful

For the little things I’ve got

That seem inconsequential

But which mean an awful lot

So, tonight I’ll thank the stars

Instead of asking them for more

And I will hope to wake with all

The things I’ve thanked them for

‘Cause now I see that my todays

Are filled with time I’ve borrowed

And I shouldn’t sit around and waste them

Chasing my tomorrows

******

Becky Hemsley 2023

https://www.facebook.com/talkingtothewild

Gorgeous artwork by Jungsuk Li

'Chasing Tomorrow' is from my most recent collection: https://a.co/d/c2Frz8s

https://tc4women.nicheebookcollections.com/NEWSLETTER-EBOOK-LIBRARY-SIGNUP.html We now have over 1900 e-books on our library shelves for your reading pleasure, so do come along and check us out.

More articles by Su DeNyme (our resident writer) & John A Elliott are available here: https://www.nicheebookcollections.com/TC4W/ARTICLES.html

Friday 5 July 2024

"CAME APART RIGHT AT THE SEAMS" by Becky Hemsley

"CAME APART RIGHT AT THE SEAMS"
by Becky Hemsley

One time I met a woman

With a basket on her arm

A basket filled with patches

And with fabric, thread and yarn

I wondered why she had it all

And so I walked a while

Watching as she greeted

Other people with a smile

I saw her greet a woman

Hanging on by just a thread

And a girl who was unravelling

With each and every step

I watched her as she stitched together

Parts all torn and frayed

And as she tied their loose ends

With the fabric she had made

And then I watched a man

Who told her that he couldn’t cope

He spoke about the heartache

That had snatched away his hope

She listened to him calmly

As she measured out her thread

And then she gently held his arm

And carefully she said

“I’ll hold you for a moment

And I’ll treat your heart with care

And it will feel different,

But perhaps less empty there”

But as I stood and watched her

As she patched his broken heart

I noticed that her dress

Was quietly coming apart

I realised that the hat she wore

Had six or seven holes

And the boots she wore upon her feet

Had barely any soles

The tights she wore beneath her dress

Were laddered and threadbare

And the jacket round her shoulders

Was in need of great repair

And now I saw it clearly:

That she spent her every day

Fixing other people

Making sure they were okay

Patching up and sewing

So that they could feel stronger

When they just couldn’t keep themselves

Together any longer

But she too needed love and care

And she too needed help

Yet she was spending all her time

On everybody else

On making sure that they were fine

To chase their hopes and dreams

Whilst she slowly, without knowing

Came apart

right

the

s e a m s

*****

This was my new poem in my June newsletter. A reminder to check in with our loved ones who always look out for everyone else.

Becky Hemsley 2024

https://www.facebook.com/talkingtothewild

Artwork by Anna Ermolaeva (@anna.ermolaeva.art on Instagram)

https://tc4women.nicheebookcollections.com/NEWSLETTER-EBOOK-LIBRARY-SIGNUP.html We now have over 1900 e-books on our library shelves for your reading pleasure, so do come along and check us out.

More articles by Su DeNyme (our resident writer) & John A Elliott are available here: https://www.nicheebookcollections.com/TC4W/ARTICLES.html