Rage is dark rust red like clotted blood
Balled fists and hot tears
White hot like molten iron
Sharp and vicious as a cooled blade
Shrill keening and worn out sobs
Forged into quiet, constantly simmering fury
Long, silent, anguished screams into pillows
And inside lonely vehicles at 60 miles per hour
With the music turned up loud to drown out the ragged
Sound shaking free of its mooring
Now a million dancing embers
Just waiting for the right bluster to ignite again
-gws
Do I exist in the space between your thoughts
Am I squeezed in as an annotation to your chaos
Do I fit in the emptiness between your heartbeats
Or the space between your breaths
Am I shoved into the shadowed alcoves of your mind
All I know is it’s dark and apocalyptic here
Where ever here is
-gws
Words stolen from my throat before my mouth gives them shape and purpose
Volumptous thoughts sucked dry of all of their sweet volume like withered grapes on the vine
Black storm clouds ripple my calm waters, sending me reeling with frustration
Being asked to be less
Say less
Need less
Take less space
I am twisted, muted, and bound inside myself
Trying to survive loving you
With your barbed wire, landmines, arrows, blades, and poisons
Maybe one day you’ll stop listening to your own voice long enough to hear mine
Or all you will hear is the silence that signifies my absence
-gws
Run unabashed though the tall grass
The wind tossing your wild hair in all directions
And brambles tearing at your hems
Laugh from deep in your belly
With your mouth wide open
And your head thrown back
Let starlight be the catchlights of your eyes
While the moon kisses your skin with dew
And soft, turned soil the carpet under your feet
Rage like a bolt of lightening from a black sky
And let your fury be quenched in the soft, summer rain of your tears
Love so deeply and completely that fingerprints are left on your soul
Dance to the drumbeat of your heart
Sing the song you have been carrying within you your whole life
And don’t give a single damn who hears you
Write your story with its angsty-teen-superhero, rom-com, horror film moments,
Coming of ages and chapter endings
Paint your canvas in all the vivid colors of your joy
And all of the pastels of your sorrows
Close your eyes and hum your gratitude for being who you are
And exactly who you are supposed to be
-gws
An “I-statement” focuses on your own feelings and experiences. It does not focus on your perspective of what the other person has done or failed to do.
Office of the Boston University Ombuds
I am human
I am exhausted
I have a right to say no
I am not harming others when I am being my authentic self
I am an ally not an enemy
I do not want to be a vessel for holding pain that is not my own
I need to be treated respectfully
-gws
May I meet today with grace.
May I treat myself with love and patience.
May I feel with certainty that I am enough this day and everyday.
-gws
When I feel small and vulnerable, I turn to that which is wondrous and vast, and remember I am Her daughter and in Her care.
-gws
Self: Why are you doing this?
Me: What do you mean? Doing what?
Self: Really? You are not THAT oblivious.
Me: Stop being bitchy, and just say what you mean.
Self: Why are you putting up with this bull shit? Why are you allowing someone else to place their misery on you?
Me: I don’t know.
Self: How can you possibly not know?
Me: Look. This was not what I thought I was signing up for. This was not how I expected to be living. THIS is not what I wanted.
Self: Yeah. So what are you going to do about it?
Me: I don’t know.
Self: Well you better figure it the fuck out, because I’m sick of the shit you put up with.
Me: So am I
Words Wishes and Wisdom 