Originally posted on May 4, 2016 ElephantWords.co.uk It begins with anticipation. There is a subtle feeling that builds in your stomach but cannot be specifically defined. There is an anxiety, a need, a longing for freedom, to be carried shoreward. Yet you are still on land. You step into the water and paddle against nature but not to defy her, to join her. You continue until you find yourself in a vast expanse of ocean on all sides. Then you…
Originally posted March 16, 2016 on ElephantWords.co.uk Her soul was tired. She looked at her shoes as she entered the train, they were covered in soot from her walk past the factory. No one made eye contact here. It’s a place where lost souls congregate, desperate to connect, but punish those who speak or make eye contact. Kindness is ostracized. As if only the socially incompetent would smile or look at each other intentionally in such a confined space. She…
Originally published Mar 9, 2016 ElephantWords.co.uk I reach to hold the position with the grace and balance expected of me. I hold my breath and release as instructed. Somewhere offstage I’m being conducted. The voice, barely audible and distant, lets me know we are about to begin. Breathe. I’ve been instructed to breathe. Breathe. My breath and heartbeat become more rapid and labored for no reason. It’s as if I’m about to be thrown to the lions. I’m filled with…