‘Wisdoms of Rose’ was originally a handmade book, made to give to children and young people through community groups. The handmade books were later also made available through the Fremantle Art Centre. In 2018 she was printed and published as a pocket book. In 2019 she was included in Clunk & Jam book, second edition.
(Handmade book)
Will I Ever Be Enough .
Completely fed up with this notion of ‘enough’, she tipped herself to one side and wondered…..who is the great measurer of ‘enough’ anyway? The holy dispenser of self worth? The one who’ll grant her the fickle and often self defeating wish to be something more. And what does ‘enough’ look like? Feel like? Think like? Or could it simply be a matter of knowing when to, “Say when” – when you’re fed up with overwhelming expectation. Feeling not quite bright enough to work all this out further contributed to her sense of worthlessness and despair, so she put her ‘boots too hard to fill’ away and cried out loud: “Enough is enough!”
From this declaration erupted an abundant supply of pride and joy and the realisation that there were countless number of things to make her enough already – problem was, they were impossible to measure. And so…..in a supreme moment of co-ordination, she gave the troublesome measuring stick a long ride on a firm new shoe – sending it far beyond the world too big. This metaphorical act of giving the stick the flick also served to remove the load of personal expectation from her weary shoulders long enough to feel ‘enough’….and break the habit of wanting to be ‘superfied’.
(Reposted from 2012. Find her in ‘Clunk & Jam’ book.)
The Peacemakers Plot .
Black peacemakers of inner conflict emerge from the depth of innocent souls. Standing firmly in experience. Boots too big, tripping up lies so old Delivering poignant punches of universal truth that swell much bigger than the silence. Inky stamps of self approval, forever fixed in soft white sheets. Together we rise – a revolution of self.
(See also, ‘Once Upon A Dark Time‘. In Clunk & Jam book, 2019. Reposted from 2010)
Held On A String .
I stretch to forever with the very tips of my fingers. Way up high to a place where everything falls away. Just me and nothing. Nothing and me. Then I let go. Fell into a place much harder than my story. It hurt. Not from the fall. From landing in things I didn’t know were still there. Now my fingers ache for the place where everything falls away. I fight to soothe fiddling fingers still. Lock them in lap. Far less than the place they long for. Much more for being held in a place I believe I have a chance to hold.
(Reposted from 2010. About addiction maybe?)
She arrived with a carpet bag and a dream …
… If she couldn’t save the world, maybe she could simply share what helped her rescue herself. Which might help others fight their own battles – and she to concentrate on her own.
Personal footnote: This ink arrived around the time of making bags to fill with books to gift to young people. She might be suggesting we need a bag of sorts (imaginary or real) to carry with us through life. Something to keep filling with things collected along the way that help you get through the tough times and tricky moments. Serve to map a path forward. Contain what we’ve achieved so far. Store things that support us to be strong, independently minded individuals – to survive and create positive changes in our lives. Or imagine it’s a bottomless bag (like Mary Poppin’s), forever sprouting new things.
(Reposted from January, 2012. Find her in ‘Clunk & Jam’ book.)
I wanted to be a star … but ended up an out of place rock. I suppose at least I’ve got the place all to myself.
Footnote: “The worst loneliness is not being comfortable with yourself.” A quote by Mark Twain. This ink is sleeping soundly now she’s found her place. She’d always wanted to be popular. To fit in and to have all the nice things others had. And so, the cycle of discontent was set in motion at a very young age. Now she seems to have staked out her own place and although she’s alone – she’s not so lonely anymore. She seems to have secured her place with pegs and ropes and gathered around her all the essentials for survival. Wood for warmth. Fire to keep threatening things away. Help her see and fill her belly. And in the warm glow of her cloth she wonders … what if society viewed those who are different; do things differently; follow their own path, as a quality – not a problem. And maybe if it wasn’t considered a problem, it would put a kind of patch on the feeling of loneliness often felt so intensely when not acknowledged or accepted for who we are.
(Originally from ‘Rock The Boat’ handmade book. Reposted from 2009. Now in Clunk & Jam, 2019).
