Version Two

Unexplored Territory

I swung upside down from the iron railinga

my hair flying wildly in the wind,

my skirt upside down

showing my knickers,

singing at the top of my voice.

Footsteps sounded on the fire escape

and I tumbled from my perch, launching myself fearlessly

not doubting that I could fly.

i soared above perching on the broken walls

pointing skyward invitingly

out into the unknown.

I surveyed my territory,

my brothers tiny insignificant specks among the debris.

My heart soared, the roar that escaped my lungs, shook the ground beneath me

as I took flight

heading out, heart extended

into the glorious unknown.

I am working with the mentor Christina Christou, author of Write Therapy a marvellously helpful and inspiring book. Having read a poem I wrote about my childhood, she cleverly suggested that I write again from the perspective of having freedom and not needing to be careful. writing both evoked the emotions and sensations as if each were true, and it was so empowering to feel those strong, positive emotions after having rewritten. For me this shows in stark reality the power of the Word and how the stories we tell ourselves can harm or heal. first, the original:

Unforseen Dangers

The bombsite beckoned daily as I hung over the iron railings

dividing our worlds, and watched as you clambered among the debris.

A skeleton building whose ragged walls pointed upwards accusingly.

Territory forbidden due to Unforseen dangers, I longed to explore.

It was, however, imperative that I remained housebound to save

my skinny knees from grazing or scuffing of my white t-bar sandals

or, heaven forbid, from unexploded joy.

You were older, and not female, and therefore,

inevitably,

free of the need

to be

careful.

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