Author: Simone

Loves to tell and hear untold stories about people, places and experiences!

Some of My Worst Wounds

I really love this poem by Jamaican poet Lorna Goodison CD. For me, it speaks to our ability to overcome, to look beyond our hurts and see possibility, to “suck salt through wooden spoon” and still be nourished. It speaks to our ability to use what we have in our hands, such as our talent to create magic, our tragedy to inspire creations that would not have been possible without them, to create the art of survival to confront catastrophe and to see the beauty that times bring to decay.

Some of my worst wounds
have healed into poems.
A few well placed
stabs in the back
have released a singing
trapped between my shoulders.
A carrydown
has lent leverage
to the tongue’s rise
and betrayals sent words
hurrying home
to toe the line again.
                      Lorna Goodison

Goodison here does not only craft a well-written and profound poem, but her poem suggests the power we hold to craft triumph from fragments of our scaffolding, having been plummeted by life’s challenges.

What is Your Community?

Have you ever been somewhere you have always been, among people you have always been around and feel as if you were in the wrong place, among the wrong people or even, in the wrong time? There is nothing wrong with them, there is no feeling of ill will just a sense that you do not belong and a deep yearning to be somewhere else, among a group you feel at home with. Do you belong to something, contribute and feel you matter to something, know that others share your interest and want to speak about things that matter to you? If the answer is yes, then you are a part of a community that you belong to. A community that you belong to is a group or network of people who are held together by common goals, interests and even desires. Without a community that you feel you belong to what would be the point?

There are some who will not agree and will highlight that they are “just fine” by themselves, that they are loners, introverts or lone wolves. The irony of the lone wolf is that they do not remain in that state forever, and will eventually find themselves back in the pack, If a lone wolf cannot survive it will eventually return to its natal pack (howstuffworks.com). So it is safe to say that having your community and being fully a part of it is very important.

The challenge though is finding your community. Many persons spend a great portion of their life trying to find the community to which they belong, and some never do and so become the lone wolf. However, the trick – and some may say good fortune – is to find like-minded people who understand and encourage your passions and who can make meaningful contributions to your life. But the community you belong to should only enrich your life, but should offer you the opportunity to enrich the lives of those within the community as well!

But here is the thing, in order to find your community that you feel connected to that you get and that gets you, you have to know who you are and what you are about. Finding a group to imitate, who you try to please, who you want to change for, is not your community, because your community should reflect who you are, not who you feel forced to be, in order to get by. The sad part is we have become so wrapped up in creating impressions all throughout our lives that we have to really search hard in order to find and be our authentic selves.

I hope that we all find the community that we belong to because it is out there waiting for us to join who form it. I hope that I will be brave enough to seek my community and not wait for it to come to me. I hope that I can claim my place there when I do encounter it and make it one that will find others like me who are wandering purposefully, trying to find their way home.

What’s the Point? Get Back On!

What's the Point? Get Back On!

The wagon left me 
standing in this fog
and I cannot see.
The horse betrayed me
after I had fed it
all my hopes and dreams
and nothing's left it seems.
Here I stand 
dead man standing.
So what do I do now?

Do you see him
standing so still
he doesn't know it
but he is killing his dreams.
He is blinded by the fear
of failure.
The horse  he laments 
is waiting for him just down the bend.
The wagon jumped off 
is waiting too,
for the driver to take control 
and carry on again.
but sadly he and other like him
will remain stuck in their distrust
of themselves.

Get off the ground!
Get back on
the wagon you abandoned.

A Small Still Voice

A Small Still Voice

I want to sit in this corner
because there is no one to turn to
but I cannot
each time I think 
I might
for a second
a small still voice nudges me
"why are you here?"
"Did you forget where you come from?"
"Get up!" it said
"and breathe!" it said
"and continue."
So timidly I sat up
and crawled 
ever so slowly.
But the voice stopped me dead
"why do you linger
where you will not grow?"
"I have given you all you need
now go."
With that I found the courage to stand
steady and go about my life.

And as I made each uncertain step
that same small still voice led.

Looking Around?

Are you looking around to find who you are? Are you stalking every platform to find that one message that will have all the answers you need to discover yourself and finally understand your purpose? Well if you are you need to reconsider if this is the right course and if you are doing this for the right reasons.

It is always good to seek out good examples that can help you in your own journey, but I believe there is no need to spend the entirety of your life watching videos, perusing writings and listening to speeches that can show you the way. At some point, it must become clear that there is a limit to how much these sources can be the bridge between you and realising your purpose, to living. I have come to realise that we will find ourselves only when we take a good look within and do the work that needs doing from within.

We sometimes are not satisfied with our own appreciation of ourselves and what we can do. We search ceaselessly for validation in every corner of our world and may still not be happy with any answer. Whatever you do must be from you and must be spurred by a desire and ability to do so. Who you are must be true to what is inside of you and not reflect what has been determined by what is outside of you. Though I have been motivated by others to do many things, I realise that I cannot rely on them to help my dream flourish, to make it stay alive. The moment I started to think of myself as a writer, was the moment I started to believe I could publish a book, even if no one ever bought it and even if I had to do it alone. Whenever it was needed it would be there ready, waiting to be consumed.

Stop looking around for someone to make you feel like you are capable because you already are. Stop looking for the perfect answers to all your problems, nothing is perfect and many things happen because of trial and error. Stop expending so much energy on getting the right message, listen to that soft still voice, until it is loud enough to propel you to act in a way that is true to you. Stop searching and find what is already in your hand and that will be enough.

Now Hiring

Now Hiring

Now hiring!
common sense
to see the truth and accept it
a willing heart
to do what must be done
a steady hands
to act without fear
so as not to become undone
by terrors that suddenly appear
a truthsayer
to see through
all the bullshit and half truths
of the serpents' fruits.

There is no monetary reward
but know you will never regret
taking this chance to reset
your mind
your soul
your heart
so once more
you can restart.