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When you feel so tired...

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When you feel so tired... You know that line in the Coldplay song, You know the one that goes - "when you feel so tired but you can't sleep" It was written for this moment, The PTSD moment that says - No-one is coming to "Fix you" You have to fix yourself; A line that keeps repeating, in my Life's song. I thought that - "there must be an angel.. "and she's playing with your heart" Was a song I'd love once more, It was a solemn song to me  When school refusal plagued my door, A child of 9 misunderstood Six months of absence, torn Driven in, against my will, one frosty autumn morn. "You are my sunshine" is the worst Of all the greats for me, The opposite of all that's right My world back then was wrong. There's silences only I can hear In every chorus of that song. (Each lyric dipped in honesty Becomes a darker one). A Wensley 10.11.2026 Draft 
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The Drove (Walking A/Way)

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The Drove (Walking a/way) In the Autumn of my Motherhood The leaves are turning. Each leaf - a page in my daughter’s story. Soon, the leaves we’ve grown thus far together Will lie fallen beneath our feet As she creates her own path Through the wilderness of our world. As she walks away, ahead of me, along The Drove, For the first time I see a young Shepherdess, no longer my timid sheep. Realisation pierces my bark-shielded heart, arrow-like; Her independence will one day leave me Obsolete. I shiver, My branches hanging bare, Cold, through the childless Winters yet to come. I curl up, under a mossy blanket, foetal, dream… Thriving, not simply surviving; Will her leaves grow with vigour Once out, from the limiting shade of my canopy? Or shrivel, without protection From the unforgivable heat? Will blossom adorn her, Bees swarm to her, Birds nest within her open branches Producing a generation who'll return here too, someday? Perhaps she will find pleasure, solace, In her rich tapestry...
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Post-Lunar Eclipse

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Post-Lunar Eclipse Eclipses remind us that shadows cross our path Transiently; we bear their dark impermanence resiliently - in our time-assured knowledge that the light of love is always there upon and within us - waiting to emerge and shine again from hearts of gold formed of stardust. A Wensley 28.08.2026
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Results

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Results This is not a results envelope It's a bookmark on page 2026 of your life, The result of a moment in time Marked - By someone who doesn't know you, Only the answers to a set of questions Set to judge you against all others. You, my daughter, are incomparable, And like the brightest star in our sky My world will forever revolve around you, Regardless of the contents of this envelope. So open it and let your spirit shine Because you have achieved so much  To be proud of. A Wensley 20.08.2026 For Rosa                          Picture credit NSPCC
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Iridescence

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Iridescence I was drawn to stand by the window That day, The day you were making jam, Sugar-crystalled strawberries simmering; 'Going-over' fruit bought by the box For a few pounds. As I leant my tear-stained cheek on the window frame, That day, Distress caught my ear; An intense tapping on glass, A frantic flapping on fabric, A dire need seeking escape.  And in that moment That day, The sky-blue curtain in my hand A flash of iridescence Crossed my line of sight And flew free. I turned, exclaiming my joy, That day, "A dragonfly, a beautiful dragonfly!" You, a diabetic, continued to fill the jars With the warm jam, Translucent in your selflessness. A Wensley 3.08.2026
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Mutual

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Mutual Through the heatwave - You stand tall against the burning sun - Xylem coursing - Veins protruding - Leaves drying, falling - Bark cracking - Limbs creaking - Fear exuding - Pheromones screaming - “Hold me!” Senses morphing - Girth holding - Stomata breathing - CO2 absorbing - Oxygen exhaling - Oxygen absorbing - CO2 exhaling - Anxiety lifting - Sky shifting - Rain gifting - Thirst quenching - Mycorrhizal sharing - Roots connecting - And as I walk beside you - Barefoot - Respectful - Allegorical - Transformational - This feels like the very definition of - “Mutual”. A Wensley 27.07.2026 Inspired by the pheromones released by a tree at Othona and a conversation about the origins of the word "Mutual" amongst the poets present at the July Jawbone Workshop.
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21

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21 I watch with tenderness  as you rub your thumb over it's patina; A two inch silver penknife With two small blades, one pointless, And a pair of tiny scissors. I watch the hard edges of your demeanour soften, Your heart stop in your mouth, And the shine in your eyes glisten with a dawning dew, As you prise each sacred part open Revealing memories of your 21st, Colin, and the fire it had survived. It was lost, presumed forever, 5 years ago, around the time you'd moved,  (been moved enough to move in with me), 21 years our age gap,  21, the number on our door. Finding this special fragment of your memory Beneath my own today, Buried under papers I'd not moved since our move, Held a mirror to our future, through our shared patina, Two hearts cosmically punctured by two small blades. A Wensley 14.07.2026 (Our 7th Barrington-anniversary)
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