She dressed for the night
Draped in shadows and silver
Making friends with the darkness
-gws
Making Friends
Category: Divine Feminine
Getting Over You (and Other Divine Interventions)
The Universe intervened
In our amber-trapped lives
Cleaving us asunder
Now that your umbra is clearing
I begin to see the Universe has
Gifted me infinite sunrises
Bursting with innumerable possibilities
After half my life with you
Standing you up
Holding you up
I find myself suddenly free
Of the responsibility of you
I delight in the joy of doing anything
Without your judgment
I relax remembering that there are no
Relentless expectations to navigate
I revel in a full night's uninterrupted sleep
I relinquish more and more tension from my body
As each day passes without you
A single divine gift containing
All the possibilities I can dream of
I will not get over you in a day
You have left me a moonscape
Desolate and damaged
I will redeem and reclaim myself
Both shadow and light
Ever shifting and changing
Just like the magnificent moon
-gws
If Not Me
I may appear whole
What you cannot see
Are the burns on my feet
From walking miles through fire
The stars in my eyes
From taking too many hits
The lacerations on my skin
From navigating uncountable shards of glass
The weariness deep in my bones
From rising everyday to overcome
Some challenge or trial
Again
And again
I have dodged and weaved
Punched and parried my way
Through days I never could have predicted
I have shown up when all I desired
Was to lay down and give up
Because if not me, then who
Mothers have to dig deep
We have to find that reservoir of power labeled
Do it for the children
So I push
So I push
So I push
Through the deepest, coldest waters
The fiercest, raging fires
The longest, darkest nights because
If not me, then who
For them
-gws
Menopause
What is this nightmare?
Acne
Joint pain
Mood swings
Hot flashes
Night sweats
Insomnia
It's a good thing that men do not experience
The joys of menopause
I'm pretty sure that we would have
Destroyed ourselves long ago if they did
Because this experience is madness
It's like the upgrade to puberty no one wanted
I HAVE SO MUCH RAGE
This has to be the reason women stop
Putting up with intolerable things during midlife
Because I'm ready to take a machete to all of the bullshit
I have zero patience for anything
When my hormones tumble out of wack
All stupidity enrages me
And so many things are branded with
A blinking neon sign that reads
STUPIDEST THING EVER
DO NOT TOLERATE
Now don't get it twisted, gentle listeners
There are no excuses planted here
Do not dismiss my disgruntled reactions
As merely hormonal storm surges
These hormones are the reason I can see
The bullshit so clearly
They are the reason I will not abide the bullshit
One second longer
As I once let go of the Maiden's mantel to take up the Mother's mantel
I now start letting go of my Mother's mantel
To assume the mantel of the Crone
Her knowing look
Her sharp witted smirk
She has seen it and rejected it all
She understands that societal norms
The expectations that sit like weights
Upon her back are not hers to carry
She understands that she is a force
She stops caring what others think of her
And starts caring about what she thinks of herself
I feel these changes calling to my core
Calling the taproot of my soul to descend
Into the tides ruled by my will and Grace's wisdom
Tides that my ancestors waded in
And tapped into before me
The wise women
The grandmothers
The healers and midwives
The matriarchs
I am about to inherit their legacy
But first
I must walk this gauntlet called menopause
This thrill ride is only just beginning
And I already want off
If you meet me and see a feral glint in my eye
Or sweat on my brow
Know it's best to just walk on by
My grasp on my self-control
Is not a secure one
I run on resentments and judgment
Not tightly moored to my higher self
This base self more worldly
Guiding me through this transition
Steeped in ragged ugly truth
So that when I emerge
My crown of silver
Is earned
-gws
Daughter of Darkness and Fire
This is my season
The season Persephone returns to the underworld
To take up her night-sky crown
A season where darkness rules
And pomegranate seeds glisten
Like ruby drops of blood
Across a dark and mossy earth
A season where candlelight entwines with shadow
And long nights lay steeped in vivid dreaming
In this season I embrace my own darkness
Unafraid of the cold and the quiet
For this is where magic lives
Where the mythical and mystical thrive
Weaving spells amongst the silence
I remember my power just like Persephone
For this is a season where the resolute thrive
I submerge into my own deep waters
My dark reflection staring back at me
As I descend into my true self
Into the rejuvenation that exists
At the heart of midnight
I greet each version of myself
Forgiving myself for every unkindness
Every neglectful moment
In this stillness where I am
Safe and whole inside my power
For this is the season I return to self
Where I remember who I am
A daughter of darkness and fire
-gws
Name
My name is: Woman Daughter Wife Mother Teacher Student Warrior Healer Friend Foe Philosopher Dreamer Writer Lover Artist Seer Goddess Spirit Light Gladys -gws
Light
I will tie starlight into my curls And paint my face in the deepest hues of garnet, ruby, and sapphire I will weave a gown from moonlight And trim it with lace born of pale sea foam and iridescent spider webs I will wear slippers shaped from silvery moss And adorn my throat in strings of silver and moonstone I will pull light from the edges of the darkest shadows And wrap it around myself like a cloak I will pull the reflected starlight from the water And craft a crown of dancing luminescence I will present myself beneath the radiant moon in this glowing finery And with Her blessing, I will shine as a reminder to all That there is no darkness without the light -gws
Where I Need to Be
I am right where I need to be, doing exactly what I need to be doing in the time that needs to be taken. The future doesn't stress or worry me. The next, right step does, so I will take my time, and place my feet carefully. I will make decisions studiously. I will trust myself and my Higher Power to push me toward the things that need to be done in the necessary time. -gws
Sweet Water
Come, thee, to the sweet waters, Child Come, let Her waters wash over thee Come, let them cleanse thy soul Let the sweet waters renew and restore thee Come, thee, to the sweet waters, Child Come, release thy sorrowful tears to Her Come, let the waters soothe the scars on your skin Let the sweet waters bare away thy hurt and pain Come, thee, to the sweet waters, Child Come, cool thy weary feet at Her banks Come, drink from Her cold springs Let the sweet waters refresh and rejuvenate thy body and spirit Come, thee, to the sweet waters, Child Come, lay down thy burdens in Her currents Come, relinquish thy distresses to Her care Let the sweet waters carry away thy worries to leave thee only peace -gws
Elemental
I am drawn by the fire I talk to the wind I heal in sweet waters With Earth I am kin -gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 