Remember How It Was Before

Remember how it was before
When I confidently walked through my life
Believing in a future full of infinite possibilities
Idealistic and self-possessed
Inspired and free to manifest the life I desired
Never apologizing for the joyousness of my nature
Never apologizing for my independence and adventurousness
Never apologizing

Such a contrast with who I would embody for too long
Cowed and questing to find the right key
That would unlock your love for the me I was before
The me that I thought you cherished
The me that was once upon a time enough
I remember how it was before
I am on a journey back to myself
The version of me that resembles the echos of my unscarred self
Together we will offer an apology to the me that was before
A reclamation of what I thought was lost
And I will be a wonder again

-gws

Dueling

Asking for help often feels like failure
Like challenging my shame to a duel
Dueling with my shame is graceless and ugly
Inflicting a million tiny self-judging cuts
To my compromised self-esteem

I try to grab onto the radiating love
When the call for help is answered
Letting that love eclipse my shame
Transmute that shame with humble gratitude
Into worthiness
I know those who offer their support
Do so selflessly because to them I am worthy
Even when I don’t feel so

-gws

Affirmations Inspired by Sarah J Maas Novels

Screen Shot from http://www.sarahjmaas.com
I will not fear
I will not falter
I will not yield
I am the great storm coming
I will rattle the stars

My freedom will mean something
The wicked will not haunt my thoughts
I will not let the hard days win
I will remain unwavering in the face of hopelessness
I will climb the mountain
I will not be afraid
I will not survive or exist, but live

I am the rock against which the surf crashes, nothing can break me
I am the spirit that cannot be broken
Only I can decide what breaks me
I will not be broken or tamed
I will not be caged
I will allow no force in the world to keep me contained
I will bow to no one

I will not feel bad for doing things that bring me joy
I am the dreamer who will remake the world
I am elegant, feminine, and utterly wild
I will not be afraid of what makes me shine brightly
Mine is not a story of darkness

-gws


I Have No Smiles for You Today

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.com
I have no smiles for you today
I will not push away my melancholy
My face is painted in shades of grief I refuse to hide

I have hidden my pain
My shame
My fear
My rage
For far too long

I will not hide this grief from view
I will not bury deep my truth
I have suffered for years in silence
I will do my mourning in the light

I am red and raw
Bruised and beaten
Emerging from nightmares
Questing toward a life unburdened

Dead dreams crunching underfoot
Like so many fallen leaves
Shattered hopes glittering
Like shards of glass in my wake

I have no smiles for you today
My mourning clothes are on display
And when its done things may not change
I have put all my masks away

-gws