All the soul wants is to be seen
All the soul wants is to be heard
All the soul wants is to matter
Standing Still at the Speed of Light
Writing, true life, random facts and fiction
All the soul wants is to be seen
All the soul wants is to be heard
All the soul wants is to matter

The night before.
I have so much in my head.
I’m sitting thinking of what this night may have been like for my mom.
I’m thinking about how she never got to see this number for herself.
I’m thinking about how I’m not sure I’ve done enough with this gift of time.
I’m thinking about who I want to be
I’m thinking about who I am
I’m thinking about the things that have broken my heart.
I’m thinking about the things that have bandaged my heart.
I’m thinking about what kind of cake there might be tomorrow.
Happy Birth Day 💜
It’s ok.
Vulnerability is hard, but I don’t judge you for it.
I don’t judge you for not knowing. For finding it so difficult.
Your tears don’t frighten me.
Your fears don’t frighten me.
I see your overwhelmed humanness
I never had any other expectations- you had already placed so many upon yourself.
I can not fix it for you. But I will be here while you try. A hand to hold, a shoulder to lean, an ear to listen and a heart full of compassion to rest in.
The walls you built to hold you up imprison you with your demons. You have made it hard to reach you, the noise so deafening you can not hear. The frustration of self so loud you think the sound is outside your head and coming from my lips.
If you looked in my eyes, the reflection of you that you would see is one of gentleness, kindness, love
Not the unworthy monster you believe is lurking.
Yet- you think I must lie. How can I see your strength, your beauty, your worth? You demonstrated it over and over to those around, but forgotten to save a bit of light for yourself.
The light you gave me to hold once, when my own battle became so dark I could not see, is a treasure I wish to return to you, to light your way. But you can not see enough to take it.
My heart aches watching you battle. Seeing your wounds erupt from within. I can not love you enough to fill the holes you keep tearing. How can you believe your grace is poison?
How can you believe you are not loved?
I ask the Gods to help you, to hear you, to guide you through. I’ll always be here, when you release yourself from the dark.
Shame perverts everything we do.
Why? What do we have to feel shamed about? Emotions? Needs? The flesh that carries us? The mind that creates? Our desires? Fears? Our successes? Failures? Our mistakes? Our vulnerability? Our kindnesses?
The shame we carry can make us closed, cruel, judgmental – indifferent to expressions of gratitude, love, caring, joy.
It divides us.
We push it off on others, not acknowledging it is our own burden we carry. We believe that love, compassion and understanding are not for us. We are not worthy.
There is so much I want to write- so much I want to express. I just want to roar
FUCK YOU
I don’t want this any more.
Fuck you to anyone who has ever made you feel lesser than.
I will not be shamed for my vulnerability
I will not be shamed for my caring
I will not be shamed for my body
I will not be shamed for my willingness to try
I will not be shamed for my past
I will not be shamed for who I am
I will not be shamed for the love I give
I will not be shamed for trying to heal
I will not be shamed for my truth
I will not be shamed for asking for help
I will not be shamed for offering help
You can try,
by your words
your actions
your silence
to tear me down
to your level
Here I will not stay
You can keep your judgements
You can keep you helpful arrows
You can keep your cloak of shame
I will shed mine and rise above
Torture to see pain and fear in your child’s eyes
How do we explain the world? The lack of empathy. The constant fear drum being beat relentlessly.
Wanting to say everything will be alright, feeling the words dry up on your tongue because you don’t know. Never make promises you can’t keep.
Her heart is heavy. Mine is breaking.
I hold her, wipe away the tears, fighting back my own.
Hope, hope, find it, enough to share. I can not bare one more thing.
Until I have to.
Tell her ‘bout the wheel, how it will turn. It won’t stay like this forever. It can’t.
A piece of childhood shattered. Another bit lost.
I must be her port. Hold steady despite my fear.
Face them down.
You can do it.
Wipe your eyes.
Breathe deep.
Head up.
Face them down.
Your heartbeat is strong.
Still your shaking hands.
You’ll rest when they’re quiet.
Eyes up.
Face them down.
Get to your feet.
You are not done.
They may have scored this battle.
They will never win the war.
Hush
The softness settled in
And like that
Change
Hush
Silk thread wrapped round
And like that
Bandaged
Hush
Be solid in the moment
And like that
Stillness
Learning about
self
needs
how to undo
how to rebuild
accountability
self love
boundaries
Some days this creates
confidence
grounding
openness
peace
connection
contentment
peace
Some days this creates
chaos
pain
fog
isolation
fear
grief
anxiety
sadness
Sometimes you can’t tell just by looking.
Maybe when I move, you’ll see a pause, hear my breath. But just a little.
You can’t see the fire I feel, the ripping burn that just settles in. The raw grind and pop. The loudness of it in my head makes it hard to hear the outside world.
When asked, I pause, ‘fine’ I say- it’s exhausting to talk about any other way.
The forced encouragement I whisper to myself to move, stretch, to do what simply needs to get done, to not cry or complain.
It’s always there.
Just by degrees
A good day( usually after treatment), it’s hardly a thought. Not forefront in my thinking, not in my way.
A bad day, sometimes there’s a reason, sometimes there is not. It creeps in like a spiked steamroller. The loudest voice in the room. Some days only one sings it’s angry song. Some days it’s a duet.
At this moment it’s a four part harmony with a smouldering back drop. No steadiness, no focus available, except to will myself to the task at hand.
I do the things I can and hope it’s enough, I reassure the frustrated tired me that relief will come.
It’s all I can do, because some days you can’t tell by looking.