Month: April 2019

April – Elements: Fire

April – Elements: Fire

Fire In the beginning you gathered the wood these tiny bits of consciousness, data that would later build the pyre little tidbits stories And then came the match the Flint the spark that ignited the truth and started the fire Sacred it burns Gathers the […]

April – Elements: Earth

April – Elements: Earth

Earth The earth knows no religion only pallid bones and dense flesh all the same under skin tones that differ The earth knows no boundaries only places where the land ends where the ocean starts where the mountains hover and where all look up to […]

April – Elements: Water

April – Elements: Water

Water

Photo credit: Denise Smith “Made of water” Follow Denise on Instagram @deniselifeart or on FB Denise Smith (Photo Album – My Streets)

I followed the others
to the Women’s Baths
this place, exclusive
for women, to dip into
the ocean, to float in the
salt, the water that heals

I followed the others
all of us chatting about
the day that had us immersed
in the words and now
the water to wash the
thoughts, to cleanse,
to refresh

I thought “why a place for
Women’s only?”
I was confident, I was fine
on the beach for all humans
and then the water held me
safely, quietly, away from
the eyes that are trained to
not see me, to only see my flesh
the cursory evaluation of whether
I am worthy of any attention at all,
not for my soul, or my wit,
or my deep opinions on justice
or growth, but for how much flesh
sits on my chest,
not the weight of my wisdom
or the size of my solutions

And I realised I have been
trained to fear men
trained to keep myself safe
trained to stay in the light
when walking home in darkness
moulded for likeability
to stay out of harm’s way

And I floated in this water
of acceptance
in the water of myself
in the water with
the topless woman
who chose to swim
with a hat on

If air is thought
and water emotion
what is fog?

And how could I
use this merging
to change
the world?

© Tanya Southey
#52words52weeks
#monthlymusing

 

April – Elements: Air

April – Elements: Air

Air When the dark waters of complexity churn and pull you under in a rip of thoughts dragging you out to sea and spinning you in a washing machine cycle of dreads yesterday’s wrongs on repeat cycle It’s time for air The invisible, pulled into […]