YOU

If every single person who has liked you in your lifetime, were to light up on a map, it would create the most glitteringly beautiful network you could imagine. Throw in the strangers you’ve been kind to, the people you’ve made laugh, or inspired along the way, and that star-bright web of you, would be an

continue reading...

THE UNINVITED FRIEND

I have an uninvited friend.She came to my door last night, again, and I almost pretended to be out.But it was too late, she saw me peering through the blinds and she can sense my energy anyway.I let my friend in and she wrapped her arms around me, uninvited.We stayed there like that, quietly, just

continue reading...
Lucy Campbell painting of girl holding ball of light

WILDLINGS

This goes out to the mamas,raising the wild ones,the not to be tamed,the rare,the reckless,and the precious… you are shaping stardustinto human formminding moonlighttill its ready to instruct the tidesand light the nights do not expect the world to seeyour diamond in the roughsparklenot yetthey cannot but one daythey will be unableto take their eyes

continue reading...
Painting of women drinking wine on a wire by Ronald West art

YOU’RE NOT FOR EVERYONE

You’re not for everyonebut you are most definitelyfor someone and when you find yourself caughtin the trap of ‘people-pleasing’remind yourself quicklythat you are ‘people’ too and further refresh your memoryby recallingthat pleasing everyoneis not possible it cannot be donejust like the sun cannot shineon all faces at once but when it doeswhen you are for

continue reading...
Lucy Campbell boy and lion painting

MAN-UP

MAN-UP The world can be tough, for a boy who’s not rough, there’s much pressureto man-up and fight and the boys who shout loud,seem so very proud,to preach that this machois right and since boys may not talk,in the way that they ought,it’s a lonely old lifefor the gentle they hide their sweet thoughts,their tears

continue reading...
Watercolour image of typewriter

WRITE ME DOWN

If one day I don’t remember, do not feel helpless.You will have much work to do.You must remember me enough for both of us.Write me down.Put the things that make me me, in a beautiful box, with my treasured photos and my joyous memories.Build my essence whole again with pictures, words, music, recipes.The things which

continue reading...
Drawing of woman holding daughter by Donna Ashworth

LOVE CAME FIRST

Love came first… You don’t move on after loss, but you must move with. You must shake hands with grief, welcome her in, for she lives with you now. Pull her a chair at the table and offer her comfort. She is not the monster you first thought her to be. She is love. And

continue reading...
Art by Tangled Muses

WINTERING

You may think yourself lazy, or flawed. Yet your body is made of almost exactly the same elements as the stars. Your bone composition matches the coral in the seas and you, my friend, are ruled by the moon and the sun. Whether you like it or not. So no, you are not lazy, Nature

continue reading...
Landscape line drawing

WHERE YOU LEFT ME

Don’t expect me to be where you left me,I can’t promise to wait for you there.I may not see the flowers you gave me,or the tears that will fall as you stare. I will be with the winds on the coastlines,embracing the mountains of snow.I’ll be rushing around on the hillsides,and lighting the fires that

continue reading...
Feathers by Pearl Ida Chen, art of feathers from above

FEATHERS

I left you a little white featherI placed it right there in your wayI wrapped it in love with a messageto let you know you’ll be okay I drew you a colourful rainbowIt followed your car for a whileI made it a beautiful rainbowI hoped it would show me your smile I flew down a

continue reading...
Helen yousaf painting of woman walking away

I WALKED

I walked with you today, I took the longer way.I made some time to tell you all the things I didn’t say.I spoke to you so softly and so often tears just flowed.I let you know my secrets, the stories you were owed. I gave you all my heart, as we walked the pretty way.I

continue reading...
Painting of older woman by laura wolf

I’VE BEEN YOUNGER…

I DIDN’T LIKE IT Maybe, we can be totally happy to ‘look our age’,but still want to look great? Maybe we can love to wear new make-up, buy the latest clothes and try new looksbut we don’t need anyone to tell us we look ‘younger’… As though that’s the goal. It’s not my goal my

continue reading...
PAINTING BY CLAUDIA TREMBLy mother and daughter facing sunset

A GIRL NEEDS A MOTHER

Somewhere inside of you, is a little girl who needs a mother. Whether you have a mother or not, the need will always be there. Even if you never had one, if you didn’t experience that maternal love, there is a hole inside of you that perhaps, you didn’t even know you had. A woman

continue reading...
Painting fo woman and man hugging in a stormy sea

YOU DON’T JUST LOSE SOMEONE ONCE

YOU DON’T JUST LOSE SOMEONE ONCEYou lose them over and over,sometimes in the same day.When the loss, momentarily forgotten,creeps up,and attacks you from behind.Fresh waves of grief as the realisation hits home,they are gone.Again.You don’t just lose someone once,you lose them every time you open your eyes to a new dawn,and as you awaken,so does

continue reading...
Best friends photo of feet

I LOVE YOUR SHOES

I said your hair looked amazing but what I really wanted to say was…“Your energy sparks a little bit of something in mine, your smile warms my heart, and when you laugh, I just have to laugh too, it’s like a bubbling stream of fresh water running through my soul. I feel like the sun

continue reading...
GIRL ON SWING ARTWORK BY PAULA BELLE FLORES

WHATEVER MAKES YOU GLAD TO BE ALIVE,

do that,whenever you can.Whatever gives your soul that lift and elevates you to a level of harmony, peace and contentment, chase it and grab it tight.Stop seeing your life as a chore to be dealt with everyday and start searching for gaps to put in blissful moments of joy.Nobody said life had to be this

continue reading...
PAINTING OF WOMAN SMILING WITH BIRD

WOMEN WHO LIKE THEMSELVES

WOMEN WHO LIKE THEMSELVES,give out a totally different light. It’s like pure unfiltered sunshine mixed with that headygolden-hour glow you only seem to find on holiday.As the sun takes its leave of the day and makes wayfor the promise of night. That light,which makes everything and everyone appear so much more beautiful, as the air

continue reading...
PAINTING OF WOMAN DANCING

DON’T MISS YOUR OWN PARTY

You know that feeling, when you have daily cleaned, cooked and prepared for a big family get-together or party?You bustle around doing everything and making sure everyone has a wonderful time and when you finally do get the chance to sit down and relax with your guests, it’s home time… Don’t let that be the

continue reading...
Woman with lights edited photograph

ACCEPT NO SHADE

Not everyone will like you.Not everyone will agree with the things you say, or do.Not everyone will understand why you are who you are,which trials and tribulations made you stronger, weaker, braver.Not everyone will care enough to look beneath,peek behind,Or read between. That’s ok. Some people will. Some people will find you so fascinating that

continue reading...
Illustration of woman hugging her body

LOVING YOURSELF IS A BIG ASK

LOVING YOURSELFis a big ask. To some it may as well be a mountain covered in treacherous ice.A journey too far, so overwhelming,that finding the start point can often seem impossible. Begin by showing yourself some slack every now and again,move into a healthy mutual respectand then maybe gravitate to treating yourself as you would

continue reading...
Teenager starting into distance/ poem about teenagers by Donna ashworth

WHEN YOU LOOK BACK

WHEN YOU LOOK BACK When you look back,  may you never see the blaze of a life in ashes because you let your fear become your fortress, your flaws become your cage and your imperfect wondrous soul to be imprisoned in a tower of self-doubt.   When you look back, may you never regret the

continue reading...
PAINTING OF INNER CHILD BY GIOIO ALBANO

SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY

Somewhere along the way, the world split you in two.And you keep one half tucked away from eyes that may judge.The other half is presented every day like a mannequin, a puppet, a pawn.Going through the motions.And somewhere along the way you decided that this half of you was the one the world wanted.Maybe because

continue reading...
Woman holding hands with spirit illustrator

I’m In The Rain

I’m in the rainI’m in the painI’m in the blood within your veinsI’m in the airMy favourite chairI’m in the soulful way you careI’m in the nightI’m in your sightI’m in your heart and holding tightI’m in the skiesThe children’s eyesI’m in your sobs and in your sighsI’m in your lifeThe cause of strifeAnd that

continue reading...
Woman asleep on bed in ocean

One Tiny Step

ONE TINY STEP When things get tough, really tough.And you don’t have the will, the answers or the energy to fight any more.There is only one way to go,Forward.One tiny, tiny step, at a time.If you can’t see the way forward, look, quite simply, for the very next step.Take that.You’re moving.One tiny step at a

continue reading...
Beautiful older woman/ loss don’t last the journey image

Don’t Prioritise Your Looks

Don’t prioritise your looks, my friend,they won’t last the journey.Your sense of humour though, will only get better.Your intuition will grow and expand like a majestic cloak of wisdom.Your ability to choose your battles, will be fine-tuned to perfection.Your capacity for stillness, for living in the moment, will blossom.And your desire to live each and

continue reading...
Mother and daughter in lake

If I Ever Have To Leave

If I ever have to leave you love,Please know I didn’t choose it.You were my every waking thought,My world, I wouldn’t lose it. If I ever have to leave you love,Don’t think I didn’t fight it.If I had any choice at all,We would never be divided. If I ever have to leave you love,I truly

continue reading...
Little girl releasing balloon

Tu me manques…‘you are missing from me’

The french don’t say, ‘I miss you’, they say… Tu me manques…‘You are missing from me’. You are. Missing. I feel your absence as though it were avital part of my body that’s gone.A part of my body that I need very muchbut for some reason, I continue to live on. You are a vital

continue reading...

You Were Just In Too Much Pain

You were just in too much pain to keep on living.And I’m sorry that I didn’t see that now.I think your soul was just too bruised to keep on giving.And you had to take the pain away somehow. If I’d called you just once more, could I have saved you?Would my need to have you

continue reading...

And I Am Glad Again, That I Feel Pain…

Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to feel everythingSo deeplyLike the weight of the world is mine to bear. Sometimes I wish I was one of those who breezeSo freelyThrough the chaos and the crisis and the suffering. Sometimes I wish I didn’t come apart so easilySo spectacularlyBut the pain is often just too much

continue reading...
You were born without a worry, poem by Donna ashworth

YOU WERE BORN WITHOUT A WORRY

You were born not caring much,For the curves along your thighs.And it took you several yearsTo care a thing about your size. When you die, I’m kinda thinking.That your thoughts won’t stray to that.You won’t waste your final breath,To utter words of being too fat. Yet the years spent in-between,From your birth till you depart.When

continue reading...
Hilda, poem, self love, poem body confidence, poem ageing, poem for body acceptance

There’s A Woman In My Mirror

There’s a woman in my mirrorAnd she looks a lot like me,Though there’s lines around her eyes,And her hair is wild and free.She is plumper than myself,And she is definitely grey.Did I miss the day this happenedHas she always been this way? And this woman in the mirrorHas an air of something calm,Like a tide

continue reading...
May your days be filled with laughter

May…

May your days be filled with laughter.May your chores complete themselves.May your mind have time to wander.To a sandy beach of shells. May your morning stretch be graceful.May your lunch be full of taste.May your inspiration find you.May no moment go to waste. May your lonely days be lacking.May your friendships linger strong.May your thoughts

continue reading...

The Greys, the Dimples, the Rolls, the Wrinkles,

The greys, the dimples, the rolls, the wrinkles,Don’t strip you of your grace.The lines, the weight, the clothes that pinch,Don’t steal light from your face. If you could see what I can see,Your world would open wide.The way your smile lights up the sky,The soul you have inside. The greys, the dimples, the rolls, the

continue reading...

What’s It Like To Be A Woman….

‘What’s it like to be a woman?” A little bird whispered in my ear. ‘Is it just like being human?’ Oh it is so much more, my dear. ——————————— We are the holders, we are the keepers, Of the secrets and the truth. We are the safe place in a storm, The creator of all

continue reading...

Be Kind…

If you’re worried you’re not kind enough, Then you’re probably already so. Because kindness is within you, You just have to let it flow. It’s the wishing good on strangers, Even though your day is grey. It’s the smiling at the lady who Is getting in your way. It’s the little spoon of sugar, That

continue reading...

Don’t Miss Me More Than Once A Day

Don’t miss me more than once a day, For life is moving fast. Don’t wish all of your time away, Dreaming of the past. Don’t waste the moment looking at, The things I left behind me. I’m not within those walls or boxes The heart is where you’ll find me. Don’t dread to say my

continue reading...

Let’s All Be A Little More ‘Hilda‘

Let’s all be a little more ‘Hilda’, I say Let’s squeeze so much joy into every day Let’s tackle new things with no fear of falling Let’s live for today and quit with the stalling Let’s show our true selves, in all of our glory Let’s remember each day, we are writing our story Let’s

continue reading...

HAVE THE COURAGE….

Have the courage To live as a whole To listen to your heart To talk to your soul To know who you are When others do not To look for the vibes To listen to thoughts Have the heart To shoulder the world To see that we’re one Whether man, boy or girl To understand

continue reading...

TO THE WOMAN

TO THE WOMAN with the full-time career, who occasionally feels the guilt of the life choices she has made… you are doing a great job. You’re an inspiration, keep on your path if feels right for you and don’t bow down to societal pressures until it suits, if ever. Young women everywhere will look up

continue reading...

FINE

FINE I’m balanced on a knife edge, running out of time. My heart’s exploding in my ears but still I say ‘I’m fine’. I’m hoping you won’t notice, yet praying that you care My world is turning inside out, no one can reach me there. I’m swimming for the surface, I’m using all I’ve left

continue reading...