“Trade me a memory,” the butterfly said
A memory that’s heavy and harsh,
And I’ll sit and I’ll listen and try my sweet best
To lighten the load on your heart.
From a poem by Becky Hemsley+Art by Amanda Cass
Butterfly 🦋 Memory
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Tag Archives: Becky Hemsley
Full Moon Energy | Stop and Breathe
The full moon always disrupts my sleep. This full Beaver moon is giving me strange dreams, too, but I can only remember fragmented snippets, like my subconscious is rambling and formless; inchoate. This is my signal to spend time in nature, whether it’s the forest, the beach, or my garden.
And she stopped…and she heard what the trees said to her,
And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave,
For the forest said nothing, it just let her breathe.
~ Becky Hemsley
Trees Call To Me, Too
There’s a tree that I’ve been watching
And I see it in my dreams
For it calls to me and whispers
As it dances in the breeze
It whispers of a struggle
From the roots up through the trunk
And from there it tells of healing
Grown of nurture, care and love
Becky Hemsley 2021
Silver Linings
Full of #gratitude and being #grateful with a poem by one of my favorites, Becky Hemsley, to help dispel any lingering Saturday blues and also because it’s too hot to stay outside.
When the ocean waves engulf you
And there’s water all around
And when you feel you’re in so deep
You might as well swim down
When the forest’s looming darkly
And you can’t see your way through
When the trees are overbearing
And they’re closing in on you
When every path is dangerous
And treacherous to tread
And you decide to stop
And stay forever lost instead
Well…
I hope the sea is sapphires
That buoy you with their blue
I hope they shine a little
Of their precious light on you
I hope the forest prides itself
On all its emerald leaves
And helps you see your brilliance
Through the darkness of the trees
I hope your paths are gilded
And are lined with golden hues
Where ruby roses grow through grass
That shines with diamond dew
I hope you feel the sunshine
And the warmth that it possesses
I hope you see the way the clouds
Are shining at their edges
‘Cause there’s richness in the darkness,
When you’re lost, beneath the surface
There’s treasure waiting for you
And I promise you it’s worth it
So don’t give up or in
‘Cause pressure builds a precious stone
You’ve everything you need
And you are stronger than you know
So please keep going up and through
Keep walking, swimming, climbing
And keep on searching clouds for silver
Sewn into their linings
—Becky Hemsley
Melancholy September
The mournful song of my little dove reminded me of a poem by Becky Hemsley.
She walked along the pathway
And she hadn’t walked for long
When she met a little bird
Who sang a melancholy song
She listened for a moment
To his sad, enchanting sound
And she asked him why he sang his song
When no-one was around
“I sing to tell the forest
That the day has just begun
And I join the morning chorus
As we’re welcoming the sun
I sing so all the other birds
Will know they’re not alone
And I hum to all the trees
To help their leaves and branches grow
I sing for all the creatures
As they go about their day
And I whistle warnings to the sky
That clouds are on their way”
But why,” she asked him gently
“Is your song so bittersweet?
Why does it sound like longing
And like yearning when you tweet?”
“I sing to feel less lonely,”
Said the tiny, little bird
“And I tweet into the quiet
Just so I can feel heard
For when the sun is busy,
When the other birds have flown,
When the trees are climbing skyward
Then I’m left here on my own
And I sing to ask the questions
That are tearing through my mind
But I don’t know what I fear the most
Silence… or the reply”
Becky Hemsley
Strawberry Full Moon’s Penumbral Thoughts
| Penumbra: a shadowy, indefinite, or marginal area |
I sent you a present last night you know
Though it didn’t address you by name
It was all of those meteors showering, dancing
And falling to earth like the rain
I wrote you a letter last week you know
But it won’t have arrived in the post
I wrote on the bright coloured curves of a rainbow
The reasons I missed you the most
I sent you a message just yesterday
But it wasn’t a message in words
For I spoke to the wind and I taught her our song
And I asked her to make sure you heard
I drew you a picture last Tuesday
But you may not have noticed it there
For I drew round the clouds with the rays of the sun
So they glowed as they hung in the air
No, you may not get gifts like you used to
Or get messages stored on your phone
But I’ll make sure I’m sending something each day
So you know that you’re never alone
And tomorrow I’ll paint something wonderful
I don’t know quite yet what it will be
But I promise you’ll know when you see it
That it’s sent just to you
Love from me
Xxx
From When I Am Gone – Becky Hemsley
…the butterfly
I love butterflies. I’ll stop whatever I’m doing to point and say, “Look at the butterfly!”
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 