A poem for you (just because…)

breathe

she sat at the back and they said she was shy
she led from the front and they hated her pride

they asked her advice and then questioned her guidance
they branded her loud then were shocked by her silence

when she shared no ambition they said it was sad
so she told them her dreams and they said she was mad

they told her they’d listen then covered their ears
and gave her a hug while they laughed at her fears

and she listened to all of it thinking she should
be the girl they told her to be best as she could

but one day she asked what was best for herself
instead of trying to please everyone else

so she walked to the forest and stood with the trees
she heard the wind whisper and dance with the leaves

she spoke to the willow, the elm and the pine
and she told them what she’d been told time after time

she told them she never felt nearly enough
she was either too little or far far too much

too loud or too quiet too fierce or too weak
too wise or too foolish too bold or too meek

then she found a small clearing surrounded by firs
and she stopped and she heard what the trees said to her

and she sat there for hours not wanting to leave
for the forest said nothing it just let her breathe

Poem by Becky Hemsley, @talkingtothewild