The Green Lady

Green is the ladies dress,
that is stitched with green thread,
dipped in poison,
whose mere touch stings.
Green are the daggers in her eyes,
whose blades are pointed at you
from all sides.
Green is the cloak she hides in
while green words
slide off her green tongue
and slap you coldly in the face.
Green are her fingers,
up to green mischief,
weaving traps and tripwires.
And if they don’t make you fall
then green is her silence,
a deathly gas that
cuts you from air.
Green is the ladies dress
that flows in jealousy,
without a care.

Laura Berry (Napowrimo Day 21 – 2024)

Control

To contort ones body
in unnatural shapes
where growth is impossible.

To cut the stem
of a growing flower
without its consent.

To bear pressure
on a bird in flight,
so fierce,
its wings break.

To club ones feet,
where crawling helplessly
is the only option.

To stifle lips
so sweet breath
becomes stale.

Laura Berry (Napowrimo Day 11 – 2024)

Ownership

You don’t own where my feet will go
How often and when
You don’t own what words I choose
Or how I speak them
You don’t own my space
Or what is inside it
You don’t own my emotions
Or why I express it
You don’t own my friendships
My success or my passion
You don’t own my looks
Or my fashion
You don’t own my time
Or my worth
You don’t own my thoughts
Or the light around my girth
You don’t own reality
And decide for me what is true
The only thing you own
Is you

Laura Berry

Cast Away

I was cast out to the sea,
i fashioned a rowing boat out of driftwood,
each piece thrown at me from the villagers.
The last one threw a rope
and said “Hang yourself or make a boat!”
So i tied the driftwood together.
None of them liked truth i reckoned.
The endless sea beckoned.
And i decorated my little boat
with bunches of seaweed around the rim
and limpets adorned its base.
It´s a pretty little thing i thought
as the tide took me out.
And here i spoke of what happened
to the fish and the dolphins
and the sailors passing by.
They took me to their island,
a land of plenty where no one lies.
I sat on the salty rocks and looked out to sea,
i had to be cast away to be free.

Laura Berry (Napowrimo Day 10 – 2023)

Under Surveillance

You speak the truth and then you’re watched,
like a lion with detachable eyes,
always behind your back.
If you turn around quick you might see
a flash and hear the hurried footsteps
of trespassing feet.
You are now a curiosity, like an alien bug
that’s landed too close to the familiar.
And you are put in a glass to be tested and gawked at.
Everything you do is now under a microscope
by eyes that are looking for your flaws,
a reason to shut you up,
like trying to put the sun inside a tin
and kicking it as they walk past
but the supanova will happen eventually.
A condensed sun is never a good idea
and the thread of truth will wrap their eyes back into their heads,
while the rest of us walk free.

Laura Berry (Napowrimo, Day 26, 2022)

Why do we command the good?

I am not talking about when someones trespassing
but when they are doing something good
and we command them to stop or shut up
then i think we have misunderstood.

When they are doing good in their own space
then we shouldn´t be bothered by this
after all their home is not ours,
why do we think it is?

So they shine and we don´t like it
the animal brain says, control, control, control
so we can run away from our fears
and instead point a finger at the good soul.

They put the work in to improve their life
and we think that needs to be stopped,
because it makes us feel uncomfortable,
they confront our errors and we´re shocked

Shocked about ourselves
and what´s in us to change
so instead we command the good person
in an effort to avoid our shame.

Laura Berry (Napowrimo, Day 19, 2022)

She´s Barking Mad

She skipped down the path with her grey hairs gleaming.
She rewilded and said thank you to the bees
She started to believe in a loving God, smiling
She chose not to eat animals, eggs or cheese
She disagreed with people more than normal
about the loving way to live her life
the way she looked became a lot less formal
she put up loving boundaries from others strife

she would say no when she meant it and yes when she did
She was often angry, fearful or sad
From her emotional expression she no longer hid
and the people said she was barking mad.
The more she was herself the happier she became
a sunlight shone in her home and heart
and to the people that said she was insane
it is them that in discontentment barks.

Laura Berry (Napowrimo, Day 17, 2022)

“You have to be more tolerant.”

I am not tolerant of abuse
Why should I be?
I am not tolerant of
Trying to fit in where
I am not wanted
I am not tolerant
Of people who demand
Ostracise and gloss over me
Like my experience has no value
Like my time and effort
Is worth so little
If you don’t want my voice
My creativity, my soul
Then don’t invite me
If all you are going to do
Is hurt me
Then I’ll uninvite myself
No more thing to laugh at
Maim, judge, dismiss, hate
My soul is worth some more to me
I may be angry right now
But this won’t change
I would rather be alone
Then stay this way.
No I am not tolerant
And I never will be.

Laura Berry (Napowrimo, Day 7, 2022)

Back Stabbing

My back has scratches and wounds
And like a horse with blinkers I don’t want to see
Insults tattooed across my spine
Words etched into my skin
But it’s not so bad if it’s behind me
I don’t want to turn around
Nor hear lies and rumours, that ugly sound
I don’t want to know who steals my life
When I am not looking
Why is it so unnerving?
I feel powerless to protect my soul
I cannot act before it’s too late
The damage is done and I didn’t know
My life is out of my control
The people give me a piece of coal
And who I am is lost
Tarnished, violated, invaded
By underhanded deeds
But the good seed is still there
I am still there
Planting flowers and making art
I wasn’t lost to me
Just to the world.

Laura Berry

What is a Violent Act?

A punch in the face is quite obvious
or a physical smack.
But there are things we overlook most times
that class as violent acts.
Forcing yourself into someones space
when they wished to be alone.
Forcing your words about yourself
to your friend upon the phone.

Taking over a space so that others
cannot exist,
restricting their movements, their happiness
and bliss.
Touching someone when they expressed dislike
but doing it anyway.
Blocking someone from leaving their space
can be a vicious kind of display.

Using the airwaves in a group
to abuse someone nearby,
so that they can´t escape you
no matter how hard they try.
Threatening violence by stomping around
and exuding your power.
Smacking doors and clanking dishes
hour after hour.

Self defense is a form of violence
that the world justifies.
Many wars have been fought
through this lens of hypocritical eyes.

But the most subtle violent acts
are the ones most detrimental.
Lying about the truth to someone
and claiming ´they´ are mental.
Distorting and manipulating
the reality of another.
That violent act of abuse
is worse than all the others.

And if we want to stop the violence
its time to look at ourselves,
and no longer be a part of it.
It´s time to take the book off the shelf.
And read its subtleties through and through
until our eyes are clear,
until it sinks into our hearts
and violence is no longer near.

Laura Berry

Napowrimo, Day Eighteen 2021