Darkest Of Days
In a gap in the downpours
I tie my child to my back
And disappear into the woods.
We follow the tracks
The sun edging further and further
Away.
She is heavier now,
A far cry
From the fragile baby
Of three years ago.
I, a woman
With a woman's body and burdens
With sorrow that has lined
My eyes and lips
And yet my heart feels
Younger and more tender than before.
We jump over rivers
To the dark felled trees
The forest, she is breathing
To the hymn of my longing
To disappear
Here we hide
From man and mask
And stand in the pouring rain
Dripping down our hair
Not quite lost yet.
My solemn girl
With my wide, hazel eyes
Clings on tightly
Peers over my shoulder
Into the darkest of days
Says stoutly,
"We can do it, mama"
- Jenny Wren
Affirmations
Preparing to see a client using these wonderful affirmations created by Hermione Wild Illustrations for use in my Awaken Your Birthing Goddess course.
As I am living the 24/7 Harry Potter lifestyle with my seven year old, I can't help but be reminded of the scene in book two where Tom Riddle laughs at Harry in the Chamber of Secrets. He mocks him, saying that Dumbledore has sent a battered old hat to face a basilisk. What Tom Riddle doesn't know is that Harry can pull the sword of Gryffindor out of the hat and slay the basilisk.
Sometimes I wonder if women think all I am sending them into birth with is some words on card, does it seem like enough to face their fears?
Affirmations are like a secret weapon, they are able to rewire your brain into trust and relaxation, they represent the love and the care you have put into your antenatal preparation, they change generations of programming and conditioning. We are surrounded by messages that tell us we can't do it, we are faulty, our bodies are broken.
Affirmations remind you of your truth and inner knowing. They represent your choice to go against the grain with courage. They are you changing the story for your daughters and granddaughters.
What a thing to pull out of a hat!
Chosen Woman
Woman,
Your body is not an "ill-informed DIY building"
It is a paradise of creation.
Your body is the perfect daughter
Of millions of years
Of grandmothers.
Your body was once worshipped
By your fathers and brothers
As the earth itself
As She who gives life and takes life away.
It begins and ends with you,
Keeper of the flame.
Woman,
When it comes to your body
There are no experts
Except you.
You who ebb and flow with the seasons
You whose blood forms bone
And muscle, and mind,
And who whispers to your babe
As they swim in the dark pool
Of your womb.
This soul who chose you
As their partner in earthly initiation.
What instrument made by
Man's hands
Could compare to you?
What book could impart
The secrets of your heart
To those in white coats?
All the sweet and beautiful ways
Your body can open
In love.
What, listen to those
Who would simply measure
What they can see
And never understand?
Their place is not in the seat
Of authority
When you hold all the power
Chosen woman
That seat is yours.
- Jenny Wren
Inspired by a post by a midwife about parents ignoring advice from "professionals".
