May 29 2023

I attended the Spoken Views Live Poetry Night tonight. Second time and this time I read a poem I wrote today. I freaking, absolutely LOVE this group of people. This is my new Monday night jam!

Photo of me on stage, a photo with the two people who welcomed me last Monday, Mountain and Marleta, and two photos of my new shirt (which I LOVE!!!)

Here’s the poem I read:

She Emerges

It’s been 15 years.
The amount of time it takes
For one to blossom from infant to teenager.

During those 15 years
She dove deep
Exploring her inner world
Drawing within herself.

No more socializing,
No more attending events
Attaching herself to the walls
Of her inner life.

Safely around herself
She spun a secure cocoon.

Weaved with the essence of
Her two kids, safe friends, family,
And healing and inspiring books.

Within this protective casing
She dove deep into confronting
Past hurts, past trauma.

Sitting with the pain, the discomfort
Allowing herself to feel every
Emotion that appeared.
Sadness, anger, joy, happiness,
content, shame, guilt.

She dove deep into experiencing
The silence of nature
The silence of life
The beauty of nature
The beauty of allowing nature to bring forth
Healing words to share with the world.

She spent many years of her
Life within this cocoon
Radically changing how
She viewed the world
And her fellow humans

Nearing the end of this molting period
She knew the radical transformaiton
Of her inner life, her heart, her soul
Was complete.

She began shedding
her protective casing.
Only to realize that her physical body
Was not yet ready to emerge.

The years of financial struggle and worry
Had taken a toll on her body.
She spent the next couple of years
In search of what ailed her body.
Finally discovering and addressing the reason.

Once her physical body was on board
With emerging,
And after learning that she, like her kids
Is neurodivergent
She realized there remained
Something within that begged
For release, for transformation

She spent months in search of
Just the right therapist.
This is exactly what the trauma
Of her youth, teenage years, and young adult needed.

An outside force to clear the
Remains of what she alone could not clear.

With each session,
the protective casing she had
Spun all those years ago
Began to crumble

She emerged as her authentic self
Her shining self
Ready to share
Of herself without fear
That shining and sharing of her true self
Would attract unwanted and unlovely attention.

For so long ago, as a young child she
Learned that when she shined,
It attracted that which felt wrong
And that which she did not want.

She is helping that young Camilla
Has hugged and loved her
Placing her in a special
Nook carved in her heart.

Behold the awakening of all that
Could have been
If she had felt safe to
Be who she wanted to be
Explore all that life had to offer
Choose a path that fit her
Feel attraction for who she was attracted to
Love who she wanted to love

The transformation is complete
She’s 16 again
Ready to LIVE life
On her terms.

A neurospicy Pisces
Lover of olives,
Dancing, Walks
And passionate kisses.

Get ready world
With no fear
With no holding back
She has emerged. – Camilla Downs – 2023