The first cracks of light
started on the inside
thoughts that rubbed together
and created a spark
piercing through the dark armour
I had been forced to don

The cloak
the mantle
of the good girl
the ‘Bless me father
for I have sinned’
the stoicism
from deep within
the rosary beads of my DNA
the absolute
‘do what you are told’

Anxiety performs a citizen’s arrest
Each time you step beyond
the boundary of how
everyone has defined you

The dropping of the guard
standing naked in myself
picking up the pen
crossing the bridge

The defiance of finally
not asking for permission

© Tanya Southey
#52words52weeks

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The owl came last night
it’s never been before

the sliver of the
waning moon
hung right
above my door

the moss had grown
beneath the rock
you once stood on

the gurgling creek
still moved along
the course it always knew

the dragonfly
suspended
in the sky

the sun would set
the sun would rise

the traffic weaved
the buildings stood
the people moved
unaware

the ripple of you
gone back into
the universe
the particle and
the wave

I sipped my coffee
closed my eyes
inhaled my memories
and found you in eternity.

© Tanya Southey
#52words52weeks

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You were always
striving
to find the pinnacle
the mountain
the river
the ocean
that would
make you
whole again
the elusive source
from which
you sprang

The external
the answer
in a book
in a face of another
and yet
it eluded you

Until

You turned
and took
one simple
inward step

Where the vastness
of the retreat
to your own
stillness
fed the parched
desert of your longing

© Tanya Southey
#52words52weeks

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Such an easy sentiment
to lean into
on lazy summer days
but the truth and
its power is
summoning it
in the midst of pain

The gratitude
at a funeral
having seen you
just before
you faded
into memories
Deep illness
cracked open
compassion
loss
generated growth
the bones
of your sadness
soothed with
the balm
of gratitude

There is a reason
it rhymes
with attitude
has grit in its letters
this healing word
that can change
the course of
rivers
of emotion

© Tanya Southey
#52words52weeks

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This life I find so big
is merely
the backdrop
of yours
prop-like I am
drinking a tea
while you are in
the café deep
in life-changing
conversation

I am the extra
in the movie of
your traffic jam
the one you
sat next to
on the plane

we thought
the other boring
but I had
high altitude thoughts
of the vastness
of the universe
the specks of
dust
of us

‘Sonder’
in another language
sounds like a word
that means ‘without’

And I guess it is
without knowledge
without depth
these tiny assumptions
you hold of me
that are neither
accurate nor true
but just an
external black
and white view
which belies
the rich internal
kaleidoscope

© Tanya Southey
#52words52weeks

Photograph Credit: Denise Smith – “Tube people” – follow Denise on Instagram @deniselifeart

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