I see you watching The sway of my hips The set of my lips The unapologetic way I take up space You're wondering about me Imagining my mysteries Gauging if you are worthy To kneel in worship before My dark goddess displayed Exhalant in my glory I will take no audience With ordinary souls They do not ignite curiosity in me I like those who recognize Their audacity in approaching me Because my eyes show I give no fucks I do not play If I let you in Doesn't mean you get to stay I have danced with devils And cast them all out Barely a glance spared them I see you watching me What's your move
She is a poet An enigmatic storyteller A word-painter who colors outside the lines Who sometimes rhymes Language her artistic medium Manifesting nouns and verbs Seeking nuanced shades in adjectives and adverbs Crafting simile and metaphor Manipulating personification and hyperbole Until a shape evolves This scaffolding for allegory to be called a poem A golem built from meticulously chosen words Watercolor emotions Empathetic evocations The work imbued with the DNA of her life experience Powered by hope for her audience to feel at a visceral level A fraction of the tsunami that lives in her
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
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
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I am a phoenix
White fire and quiet, contained power
Yet you mistake me for something common
I am elemental and fierce
I am intuitive and intelligent
I am calm and steadfast
Until ignited or inflamed
That is when all of my truth
All of my fearsomeness and fire
Blaze like a beacon in the night
Warning all who see me that
I am transformed into my divine self
Wings spread wide
Eyes blazing
Consuming all that stands in my way
I will always get back up
I will always rise again
Smarter
More experienced
Clearer-eyed
You may not see that I am a precious rarity
But I promise you that when I ascend
I will shine with divine light
And leave you cowering in total darkness
-gws
Voices rose in sharp keening
The dry grass caught
And the world began to burn
Ancestors' voices whispered in their ears
As they focused their rage into a reckoning
-gws
I want a closet full of ball gowns that I wear to the grocery store
I want a shelf full of outlandish hats that I wear to walk the dog
I want a drawer full of adorable fandom socks that I wear with bedazzled sneakers
I want a collection of cloaks, coats, and sweaters handmade from mismatched scraps of fabric and yarn that create random, joyous patterns
I want to dance on curbs and twirl in open spaces
I want to speak random bits of spontaneous verse in the park
I want to compliment the charismatic child and the quietest person at the party so they know they are seen
I want to be the joyous crone who says sage things and knows that life shouldn’t be taken so seriously
I want to be unequivocally, undeniably me
-gws
She was wild
Divinely corralled
Pulsing with wind chasing through wild grasses
Bubbling icy streams and
Hummingbird wings
All kinetic energy and joy for existing
-gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 