Bethany Williams has just published her first book of poetry. 'Waiting for the blue' is an extraordinary collection - an exploration of the nature of grief and loss, primarily her own. The honesty is breathtaking. Bethany explains that '...the poems are an attempt to give voice to the emotions that lay behind grief...' and that the book is '...for anyone who is who has lost someone they hold close, to know they are not alone.' Today's poem is an exclusive and we're delighted to include it.
Becoming the storm.
She whispers to me
Come home my child
Repeats herself again
She speaks to the wild in me
Come home my friend
She whispers more urgently
Her face becomes ashen
She looks at me carefully
Her heart full of compassion
She whispers prayerfully
I watch her smile recede
She voices my anger
She promises she won't leave
Her lips start turning grey
As she howls into the night
I rejoice in her return
Though others are filled with fright
They think she's cursing us
But they don't understand;
They mistake all her rage
And soon withdraw their hand
She draws close to me
Protects me from the pain
When everything else shatters
She will always still remain
Whilst the world turns its back
When everything I have is broken
She says - You were hurting
For you I have spoken
Her tears fall violently
This is how she loves
She gives voice to my brokenness
Icy hands give me a hug
Sometimes we swap places
My spirit is transformed
Sometimes I live inside her
For I become the storm.
© 2024, Bethany Williams
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'Waiting for the blue' by Bethany Williams can be purchased here.
