In the wings

In the wings

You were always there

Witnessing the trajectory of my life

Watching and waiting for me to

Awaken from these fairy tales

Where wicked step mothers

Kept me fathoms under

With their judgements of

How I was the ugly duckling

Never destined for the things

That others  accepted would be theirs

Just for the asking

You always felt so sad

When you saw me struggling to fit in

Twisting myself this way and that

Just to find attention

Turning away or devaluing the gifts

I so often judged insignificant

In a culture that honours bright and shiny things

And forgets the wisdom

Hidden beneath a pile of coal and ash

Burned down to reveal at last

The essence of a soul

So now it is with a kind of joy

You see me waking up

To truths I could never have believed before

And in the wings

You do your dance

Thrilled to witness me

Awakening from the trance

That held me captive for so long