Once More into the Breach

Cloaked in red,

Towering Athena

No longer hidden away,

no longer to be ignored, dismissed, discarded.

Arms outstretched

face upturned to the Sun

Sword at the ready,

armour glinting in newdawn light

Battle cry on my lips-

Hear my song,

Steely resolve in my gaze
Standing strong against the surge.

I have always seen myself as something of a mouse, small, unseen, even unimportant, but in recent months that perception has begun to change. I can not even quite pinpoint where this perception of myself came from. As a child I was among the physically smallest in my class, and I was quiet & bookish & shy. As I grew into my teens I nurtured this image as a safe place to hide. If I was invisible no one could expect anything, or ask anything, of me.
But lately I have been hearing the people around me telling me something different; that I am strong, powerful, wise, lovely, and a force to be reckoned with. And slowly I have started to believe it, to see myself as God made me, as others see me.
My poetry is my voice, a voice of passion, of prophecy, of praise. Like me it is quiet, and often overlooked, but I hope, when you do look, it changes you, as it changes me.
On Sunday morning, during worship I could see myself, no longer small and unimportant, but tall & strong, not just tall, but towering. I was in a room so filled with light I could not see the walls, the floor, the ceiling, I almost felt suspended, outside of time & space, except my feet were firmly planted. I marveled at it, almost wept for the wonder of it all.