CLOUDED VISIONS They couldn’t Believe themselves When they saw Angels Lighting up The misty sky Because The greyness Loomed over them And their visions Had become clouded

#METOO Where do I begin? When it seems like We will never ever win How do I explain That every single day I am cowering From your pain That my comfort is In my space Because they won’t Ever understand

A MOTHER'S LOVE I remember waking up that morning at 5 am, startled by my noisy alarm. I smiled with glee and got ready to flee. Mummy and I were gonna climb a mountain. My first one. I ate my breakfast,

LIVING IN THE NOW You were only Living in the past Terrified of the future And forgetting about the now You were only Overthinking Because under thinking Didn’t cut the hours That dwelling enticed You

THICK SKIN He told me He had thick skin He sharpened knives By their fives He told me Life taught him To protect himself But he didn’t reveal why And it left me wondering Even if it wasn’t my business

THE LONG TERM She told herself Decorate, decorate But she felt limited Trapped She held back Realising that This would only Be worth the long term

MY WAY If I had done it My way What would they have said? Sometimes we have to make Compromises Even if it kills us to do so

GROOVE I was thirsty My mouth Dried Out Like a desert But I just Couldn’t Stop The groove

WITH A CUP HALF FULL With one hand He moved His grasp He slithered And tilted Peeking Curiously Though he heard Dozens of stories Of glasses half full He wanted it To be cups

ISABEL Isabel’s favourite colour was red. But she told everyone it was black. She liked to seem illusive, but to blend within the realms of what it meant to be exclusive. Isabel dreamed in glitter. She

OBJECTIFY ME You gave me permission To grow If I was nothing But your object You opened My eyes To new perspectives

MY MIND IS A BUSY BEE I grew eyes In the back of my head I drew lines In my mind Connecting Things that were Never Meant to be connected And assuming Things that Were never true

IT HURTS Hands around His waist Trembling at The touch Who knew sacrifice Would hurt So Very much

NEVER LET ME GO Hold me tight And never let me go Give me certainty When I am unsure About everything Put your arm Around me And slide your hands Through mine And tell me sweet nothings Till I really believe

FORBIDDEN FRUIT Predictability Felt good Felt secure Felt safe Spontaneity On the other hand Felt daring Dangerously so And spontaneity was So beautiful Because it Was so Goddam unpredictable

VEGETARIAN She was vegetarian She was neither Compassionate enough To be vegan Or lacking Enough compassion To eat meat or fish

SLIPPING AWAY I enjoy Reflections I enjoy To analyse I enjoy To be aware Even at times If that means Over-aware The months Slipped away And I felt Myself Deteriorating In a way I couldn’t Control And that

IT MEANS NOTHING TO ME I remember Thinking nothing of it Just a normal day With some stupid warning sign That nobody pays attention too And it wasn't till later That I realised This is my privilege To

UP You're like heroine So beautiful And destructive At once You keep me up at night It feels like I have the power Of the world At my fingertips You make me consider The beliefs Of others Over my own You

SELF Stressed souls seek sustenance Ears exhaling eerie exurbia Lost like lullabies Forgetting forever for fools *** CURIOSITYKILLEDTHECATRI