The Project
Learning to use her voice
Stop putting my voice in a box and locking it up
It was given to me for a reason and it needs to breathe
My words fly maybe a bit too sharply but they hit your shields and fall like stone
The action steals the air from me
Being pushed down, down
Like all the others before me
But we push back a little harder every time
I know change will come
It’s on the horizon now
My mind and my thoughts
Are not yours to manage
They’re mine and their strength will break your locks
Your censoring is tiring
But reclaiming my power gives me strength
My body is not yours to cover, strip or use as an excuse
To discuss and decide
How I should live my life
Finding her circle
They gathered
Like moths to a flame
They heard her cries and they came because they heard them before
They surround her
There’s no need for words
They know inside the pain themselves
They know what she needs
They create a space
Safe inside
Just for them
They hold her here
And fill her with love and compassion
Her journey
Not completed overnight
Is aided by the strength of her women, her tribe
A bind so pure it creates hope in the dark
It shows her the way
They stay
Tell tales and stories
Whisper truths of a brighter future
One they will take her to
She is tired now
They wipe her tears and lay her down
They keep her warm
Their comfort a cocoon
There they will stay
She will rise again
With the sun
And their faces she will see
Sisters not of blood but of soul
They will help her to her feet and guide her
Until she can walk on her own
Head held high
Their job is done, their sister healed
Not by magic like in the books
But the unspoken magic
Of the invisible bond
That holds women as one to the end of time
They will come together again
When another falls
They will use their powers silently
So she can grow
Because women are strong
And together, they’re unstoppable
Daughter, Mother
You were the first woman to guide me
The first female heart to support me
I first learnt the strength of women from you,
I see female power because of you
Wrote me stories and made me the main character,
Then held me tight as you read them to me
You gave me wings
And then taught me how to fly
Played my games
Fed my imagination
Oh the worlds we made I wish they were real
You taught me about my body and you made it ok,
To ask you questions without any shame
I pushed you away so many times
Wanted to isolate myself
But you welcomed me back with open arms each time
From a flutter to birth,
nine months of protection.
Strong love and ties,
an instant connection.
A journey in life,
a long road begun.
First smile, first word,
a web of love firmly spun.
Your tiny hand,
trustingly held by mine
our life together, so beautiful,
not bound at all by judgement or time.
A Mother’s privilege,
present in your journey’s path.
To be forever proud and content,
to watch you climb your life’s graph
An aura surrounds us,
our heart’s beat as one.
No matter where you are in the world,
I’ll always be ‘mum’.
A bond so tight,
connectively together.
United we stand,
stronger forever.
Letter to her younger self
You were born with a special power
And that scares them
You are not them
so they will try to put you in a box
Label you as one thing
To hide what they fear
That all along they were wrong
You were always worthy
They will make you small
Can’t take up space
Because they don’t think there’s enough space for all
And they were brought up to believe that the world is for them
Things are changing and that will continue
Although they try to take your voice and your choice
Silence your cries
You will break through
Although you struggled to find yourself in the magazines, the movies, the positions of power and everywhere else
There are more of you out there
Many unique versions of you
And you will come together
They will try to tell you who you are and what you can do
And for a long time you may believe them
They will try and trip you up along the way to self discovery
And you will have moments of doubt
But have courage
One day the mist will clear
as the voices of your tribe will sound through and echo yours
And you will realise who you are
And that there is space for you
You won’t get there straight away, but you will
And you will see how much the world has to offer
You will see the traps
The pitfalls and the fakes
And how to dance around them
You will realise
You are enough, and you will arrive
At the start of the rest of your life-
And you will thrive
You will realise you never needed to diminish yourself for them
Never needed to make yourself small
Never needed to be quieter, prettier
Never needed to hide your intelligence, your feelings, your vulnerabilities or your truth
And then, you become you
She learns self care
A tiny shoot pushing through the dirt
Reaching the surface
And then blooms
As she weathers the storms
And uses them to become strong
Beauty in its entirety
Not as delicate as they surmise
She is grounded
Taking care of herself
Tending to her emotions and boundaries,
She starts to thrive
She overcomes, she finds herself
A moment of realisation, leading to release
A catalyst
Surge through me, bright, warm, real and safe
The knowledge that I could rise above
Fulfil and be fulfilled
To step into true purpose
Hello, it’s the new me
You won’t recognise for a while
There’s a lot of change
Truth, hope, strength and love
The same but uncovered
It can shine through now
Always there but the key was lost
The knowledge strong
Oh there will be weaker moments, darker moments
That’s the journey
Don’t worry about the destination you’re where you need to be
My heart beats stronger now and my steps are lighter
Hello, I say, welcome