The art of language is a powerful mechanism allowing us to reach inside another's soul through the common threads of experience and the power of imagination to leave a momentary imprint on the soft fabric heart of other's lives.
-gws
I am not the author of your story
As much as that saddens me to admit
You are the wordsmith of your tale
You write yourself as the hero of your own journey
Despite being so often the villain of mine
But understanding how you see your world
Understanding that you can be none other
Than the hero of your pages
Helps me gain perspective into why
You write me as the arch-villain of your narrative
There is no mirror in your story
You cannot see yourself
And as if bespelled
You see only monsters and
Enemies in every shadow
My pages would describe the cause
As a self-afflicted curse
Yours would imply the question
Are villains born or made?
For you would say you are
The result of what others made you
Be you hero or villain
You are forever alone
Shadowboxing every perceived threat
And drawing blood from everyone
Who gets too close for too long
Blinded by pain and unable to
See that the one causing
The most pain for you is you
Like a manifested destiny
It becomes so
As our books sit side by side on the shelf
Yours a story of never ending rage, war, and loss
Mine becomes a story of surrender, retreat, and release
For I am removing myself from your story
It is time to make myself the hero of my own
And write the closing of this chapter
For I can feel the peace and love I deserve
Waiting for me in the next chapters of my life
I am ready to transform my story
Into the self-love story I have long deserved
I hope you find your happy ending
I write a magic wish for that
Into my final paragraph
Of our chapter in my book
Then turn the page to my tabula rasa
Full of potential and possibilities
And the freedom to write my future
As rich and joyful as I can imagine it
-gws
I arrived in this world
A shooting star
Trailing dreams
And magic in my wake
-gws
Words have power
They are thoughts made manifest
And loosed into the world
They are fragile crepe paper ghosts
Spoken softly to breathe thoughts to life
They are shining lights
Spoken with bold love and given as gifts
They are a clarion bell call
Spoken with volume, power, and purpose
They are truth and belief
And love made real
Words have power
They are thought made manifest
And loosed into the world
They are knife edges
Spoken to cut the soul
They are blunt force
Spoken to crush and wind
They are daggers
Spoken to pierce the heart
They are lashing whips
Spoken to welt and sting and scar
They are hurt and anger
And resentment made real
Words have power
They are thought made manifest
And loosed into the world
Beware how you manifest your
Intentions into the world
The heat of passionate anger
Can turn language into fists that leave bruises
That cannot be seen and may never heal
Beware how you manifest your
Intentions into the world
Regret is a bitter friend
For what is said cannot be unsaid or unheard
Beware how you manifest your
Intentions into the world
Think before you speak and
Hold your tongue until you possess
A calmer mind and kinder words
Words have power
They are thought made manifest
And loosed into the world
-gws
Forty-eight orbits of the sun
Forty-eight birthdays celebrated
Some happy
Some not
This morning I turned my face
To golden, gossamer sunlight
Filtered through cool, blue fog
I was showered in love notes
Sung to and hugged by my children
My pockets may be empty
But my heart can't be much fuller
-gws
Autumn prepares to make its bow
As December takes the stage
With evergreen and holly crown
And bonfires ablaze
The cloak of winter deep and white
With whispered grace arrives
While all good folks abide long nights
As snow falls on the pines
Let not the darkness weight your brow
Do light your lamps ablaze
For soon the Solstice will arrive
To return the longer days
-gws
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
I have entered my season of truth
The veil of delusion
Illusion
Deliberate ignorance
Is being peeled away
It is not an ugly truth
I find below the surface
But a blinding
Shining truth
One that offers a promise
Of deliverance from a
Self-imposed bondage
And offers a path
To a beautiful new freedom
-gws
If I was a tarot card The Knight of Swords it would be Even my name, Gladys Is reminiscent of the gladius blade The knight and I are of quick wit Sharp tongue And posses a low tolerance for stupidity We have something to say And you must listen now or miss it To your own detriment The truth is our shield Logic our blade We understand the time is now And no one and nothing will Stop our message Some may think us Too blunt Too cutting Too opinionated Too unfeeling But that is because they do not Understand the urgency Carpe Diem my friends The day is yours to lose The opportunity of now Will not return again -gws
What is
No longer serves me
I glance back over my shoulder
Setting this place and time
Into my memory to honor
The weight of this moment
This chapter has ended
Though I may be the only
One who knows it
I shoulder my bag
With deliberate movements
And a deep sigh
It’s time to find out
To discover
To move on and move forward
With a step
I let go of what was
And turn toward a path I know
Will be paved with the opportunity
For enlightenment and discovery
-gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 