Commissioned to write a poem for up-and-coming designer Max Zara Sterck for her debut fashion film to open SS22 London Fashion Week, through British Fashion Council and Discovery Lab.
Participated in debut issue of Everytime Zine.
Featured in Issue 001 Love & Lust of The Bower Monologues. Click here to order a copy.
Read my poetry at #LiveForLove event to raise money for UK food banks (circa 31-minute-mark).
Performed poetry at Sapphos Books Cafe & Wine Bar, Australia and Cantos, 91 Living Room, London.
Poetry featured as part of the Seed project in March 2020 and in June 2020.
Poetry featured in issue one of MadWomxnMagazine in October 2020.
Freelance superhero
“She fierce,” they say
doesn’t let anything stand in her way
knows what she wants
clear with her response,
effective with time,
great at saving the dime.
Set on learning;
A reputation, she is earning.
Someone people want to connect with,
Opportunities they want to give.
Sure, of her worth
A people’s person since birth
Sure of her direction
Can say ‘no’ with affection
Clear boundaries set in place
Knows how to create inner space
A weekly walk and time to read
Good habits learned and room to breathe
Personal confidence she exudes
Wearing her superhero cape, she’s a muse.
No wonder there’s clients lined up in queues!
Lady Year
The year of adventure,
Risk taking
Leaning in.
Entering new terrains
Accepting challenges.
Free from distractions
Learning to say no
Learning to say yes
Opening up to love
Embracing my masculinity
Feeling my femininity,
Understanding my power
Working out my direction.
The year of change,
Stealth and strife,
Coping
And knowing where to cry,
Who to turn to.
The year of self-belief
And rebuilding strength,
Taking tumbles and climbing back up,
Resilience.
The year of faith, hope and friendship,
Fiesta, food and travel.
Reigniting lost passions
Neglecting desolate despair
Seeing light through the ashes
And opportunity in pain.
The year of ‘I’
Calling it in
Listening to the ego.
Quietening the mind
The selfish ‘we’
That occupies its space.
Turning into the heat
Constructing a tunnel
To connect with FLOW.
The year I let go
And say “me first.”
Is it right for me?
Is it right for me
To party into the night?
Stay up until first light?
Kiss the boys with all my might?
Work hard and always fight?
Count pennies and act tight?
Keep comrades within close sight?
Oh, what is right?
Questioning morals and my
dignity?
Taking on new responsibility?
Falling in love ambitiously?
Buying new clothes with affinity?
Saying no to hen dos wilfully?
I need to ask – is it right?
To sleep over lack of rest?
To journey afar on a quest?
To feel unsafe in the nest?
To keep an ex in mind, I obsess?
To reject support instead and jest?
What is right? That’s the test.
The simple question follows me around
To seek out what I have found
Lo and behold, I understand
Consciously querying, standing my ground
Yes or no? Right or wrong?
A short statement; it isn’t long
A reaffirmation of my wants and needs
To check in before completing deeds
That’s all I ask, be present
Simplify intention, clarify what’s meant.
Even if at times, the ‘wrong’ decision is chosen
The act of thinking is golden.
Give me hope
I don’t trust you to look after my heart
And to keep it safe for me
While I battle stormy seas
And voyage ahead.
I’d prefer to remain as captain and crew
To steer the ship alone
And weather the conditions I cross
Knowing full well I’ve done it solo
Then take a tumultuous turn
On your watch
And get lost in the Bermuda triangle of love.
I’m not strong enough to survive it twice.
Heart Navigations
He crafted a little space
In my perfectly occupied world
Imprinting himself forever
In my heart
That allowed me to separate
The storm from the sea
And sail on saliently.
A little sailor
Unlocking the chains
Bottled around
My unforgiving heart.
Forever
For she who walked the desert,
Her sins, they were enchanted
Dazzling like stars, glistening regally
Like fireflies in the night’s sky,
Dancing beneath the flicker of his eye.
With one sweet whisper, he scooped her up
Held her in the calm of his palm
The world a storm, sweet silence lingering between them.
Love, like a candle, twinkling,
Illuminating our best sides.
Attracting heat
And nourishing souls.
A feeling to fall into,
A cloud to be cushioned by,
A depth to search.
Now that I’ve found you
And you, I.
Gone with the wind
The freedom
Its refreshing touch upon my face
Mussing up my hair
And blowing my eyelashes apart.
Its strength lifting me up; I may soar
Like birds above,
Gaining distance and perspective
On the life below.
I am nothing but a human
Looking down, seeing
The water lapping against the rocks,
Slapping their surfaces
With their routined rhythm
Ebbing and flowing
Tempting my jump.
I am powerless,
Frozen on the edge
Uplifted by the gusts of power,
Their ability to move me
Shift my stale thoughts
Strip off the top layer of skin
To reveal
A simplicity
Rooted in sensibility
The wind sings,
My heart laughs
All knowing,
Carefree and alive
Re-born –
I’m an eagle
Scouring the land for prey
Rising high in search
Before dipping down low
To strike
Precisely plopping in the sea one sec
To retrieve my prize
Blowing out the cobwebs
Afresh with possibility
Eyes brighter
Ears tingled cold
Face whipped with the speed
As it gushes past
Whispering the secrets of the day
I am listening
Yet really I already know.
A thousand times I have stood here
A thousand times I will stand
To brush against the face of danger
And confide in my old friend,
The wind.
Goodbye stick insect
A hard life has the stick insect.
Not the most compelling of pets,
Easy to lose
Beneath the brambles, hidden
In the glass box container.
Pulsing with each pace, it
Jitters,
Grooves,
Yet they do camouflage superbly well.
Until one day they die.
You can never be sure.
Frozen
A genuine stick
Standing to attention like a soldier
Waxed into position.
We didn’t know what to do.
Had to be sure,
To be sure.
And when it was clear,
A makeshift matchbox,
Black,
But the red crucifix,
Worked wonders as its
Coffin.
Serious September
Season’s changing, my old friend
Summer has to come to an end
Leaves are falling, crunching below foot,
Mind is stabilising, feeling resolute.
The fire’s embers slowly burning,
A new perspective that I’m learning.
Sunshine frolics to leave behind
For I must return to the daily grind.
Carefree adventures casting spells
Nose more attuned to life’s sweet smells.
Observing patterns, taking stock,
Considerations into the melting pot.
The energy required to see me through
The winter months; I must act, think and do.
Autumn tornado arrives in style
Sometimes the transition can take a while.
But this year, the beckoning is real
A desire to focus; knuckle down, I feel.
Festivities may be fun but knackering
Yet they’ve fuelled an internal fracturing
of all that I’ve known
Where the sun shone, seeds have grown.
The season’s passing; a ritualistic endeavour
Lightening clarity, peaceful tremor.
The signs are clear, routine establishing
A new dawn awaits; utterly ravishing.
A hazy blue descends upon some
But I can’t help feeling at one
Summer’s limitless freedom paved the way
Almost looking forward to rain and grey.
Prospective excitement at what’s to come
Lean into change – my rule of thumb.
Embrace the season’s cyclical energy
Dancing in the sun; a lasting memory.
Days get shorter; nestling in
Sourcing opportunities; growing thicker skin.
No longer basking in the light of day
Lots more to experience across work and play.
It’s coming for you – like it or not
So, use the autumn to harvest your plot.