Red like the pathetically fragile organ you tried so hard to protect,
Without success
as somebody squashed it like a miserable bug,
but
if you’re going to run away with fanciful ideas,
store them somewhere safe, as squirrels do with nuts
before throwing the key down a bottomless well,
then
quite frankly, you must accept
you deserve everything you get
Slowly the sun goes down
Splashing dying embers
In her mane
Of untamed hair
With regret he pulls down the shades
To keep the scented summer
Fragrant with life
Outside
A subdued light
Tinged with tiny pools of dark
Invades
Her domain
Sleep softens her features further
He – the faithful sentinel watching over
his delicate flower –
Can’t help but fret
His chest feels tight
Aware the world
Will reach out with eager fingers
She will know hurt
He will contemplate murder
But for now the princess,
Just turned seven
Dreams still intact, untouched
Rests peacefully
He kisses her sweet cheek
Pulls back the covers
One last look, lingering, tender
For now she’s safe
Her innocence preserved
*Photograph found on Pinterest, try as I might I couldn’t find anyone to credit for it*
P.S. for whatever reason, WordPress is not letting me reply to older comments so I apologise to anyone who’s left thoughts on previous posts – I didn’t mean to ignore you, honest!
I get off my throne
Take off my clothes
I keep my crown
My silver bangles
Get down on the floor
Crawl
A slow
Deliberate animal
I lick my lips, shake my hair
I can see your hands tremble
Such are our desires
An urge, intense and primal
To play predator and prey
At times you are my slave
Others I am yours
We revel
In filth and shame
Games of pleasure and pain
Now
You stand over me
Still statue carved in stone
Silent with burning eyes
You are already mine –
But my submission
Its meaning
My legendary pride
Discarded
For you, thrown aside
A queen purposefully brought low
– makes you even more so
Placing the final piece in the puzzle
So complicated and yet so simple
The contract that binds
Is the one left unsigned
Your hand on my throat
My fingers in your mouth
The sharp intake of breath
I expect
When you’re on the edge
When I know you’re close
Tomorrow
And the days after
I will bleed into your thoughts
Seep in little by little
Until
The need
To taste me again
Takes over
Colours
With crimson red over monochrome
Controls
You – body, mind and soul because
Mine is the name you can’t say
I am the secret you can’t share
What should have been sunset-lit
But instead
I am your midnight remorse
Je suis ton remord de minuit
We escaped gloomy cages
Breathed new air outside the musty pages
Of the books we’d sheltered in
For so long
We were bewitching birds brought back for a single song
Dried butterflies,
Wings untied,
Briefly swelling with life
Drunk on sun & scented promises
The sweet sound of stolen kisses
For a little while, we were allowed
To fly once more – high, above the clouds
It didn’t last
It never does
Alas everything must die
Go back to ashes and dust
But,
I’ll always remember
How once we emerged
From the cocoon of past winters
It’s Publication Day for Unfinished Business – how exciting! – so here’s (another) pic of me holding the book a bit earlier today, because that’s definitely what the internet needs.
If you missed my (looong) post about the novel the other day, here it is again: Being a Bookworm and a Beta Reader is Beautiful
You can order Unfinished Business here: Unfinished Business on Amazon
A couple of pics that didn’t make it in the last post: yes, I know, I’m shameless – but this book is soooo good I’m quite happy inundating you all with photos.
Don’t ever be intimidated by groupthink, don’t fall for identity politics, keep resisting the bullshit…
…but if all your attempts to re-establish sanity fail, leave them to it, desert the sinking ship – and do it with honour and dignity.
Be an authentic Corsair – walk the plank backwards while looking them in the face, so they are fully aware you’re jumping because you want to, not because they are making you.
It’s not often I have anything good to say about Twitter, it can be such a vicious place, especially right now as they’re cracking down on free speech. But… this isn’t going to be one of those posts!
Last night I couldn’t sleep, not one bit, not at all. Now I’m used to insomnia, I’ve always had problems sleeping but I usually manage a few hours. But last night there was nothing doing, I knew it was no use and I gave up even trying – I was pacing up and down until morning because I couldn’t read, I couldn’t think, I couldn’t do anything.
Predictably, by 8 o’clock this morning I was feeling like s**t.
So I turned to Twitter and asked if anybody knew of a quick pick-me-up, because I don’t drink coffee like other mortals. And Twitter delivered, a bunch of people replied with tips and another bunch messaged me to ask if I was ok, etc…now, that – alone – was a pick-me-up.
I had the cold shower quite a few people recommended, and you know what? It bloody works – you have to be brave though. I also made juice with everything I was told would help – all kinds of fruits – and including a big chunk of stem ginger…now I won’t say the juice tasted nice because it didn’t…but I definitely felt better afterwards.
I then posted a selfie to Twitter: post cold shower, post juice because it was after all a Twitter result – and now it has made it on my blog too.
It’s now afternoon and I’m having green tea and feeling sooo tired…and hoping tonight won’t be a repeat performance of last night.
People who have no problems sleeping…you have no idea how much I envy you.
When the stars peppered the skies, pinpricks of light in the silent night and the dark fabric of life,
you said I was beautiful – one of a kind –
but,
by dawn you had changed your mind.
For as long as I’ve had this blog, I have never failed to post a little something on my birthday. So, it’s a bit late this year – my birthday was on Saturday – but I’ve put this together: it’s basically a few pics going back over the last 12 months. To be quite honest, I’ve enjoyed this short walk down memory lane, though I appreciate none of you will know the moments and stories behind the pics so this is really for me rather than anyone else. I’ve gone from blonde back to Brunette this year and it feels right as I’m in a really good place right now, I’m back to being me – fully and unapologetic-ally.
Here are all my blurry and not at all professional snapshots.
I haven’t updated my blog in ages and I feel kind of bad about that, but I’ve been incredibly busy – I might write about it soon, when I get a little bit of time to do so. In the meantime, here’s me late last night, I’d just returned from a talk in London on “Freedom of Speech” – yes, I hear you, even you at the back. You’re rolling your eyes and mumbling: “does she talk about anything else these days?!”
Fair enough, but I do actually talk about plenty of other things (oh yes, I do) It’s just that this is something that matters greatly to me and if I’ve become a bit of a free speech warrior, it’s because those types of warriors are needed at this precise moment in time. Last night, in the heart of Westminster, people from my tribe, people from all over gathered for a principle, for a basic right – one that won’t be taken away from us if we can help it.
Aaaaand I’m done – see, that wasn’t so bad 😉
