Adapted excerpt from (working title) -"I Never Called it Abuse"
This (b)(w)itch, stays up late and wakes up early just so she can have the time to read her books, write her stories, and play with her banjo. She keeps her sleeping space outside just so she can hear the stories that the rain and the wind and the birds have for her. Her first work of the day is to light the hearth fires and Give Thanks. She keeps the lights on and the rent paid. She pushes him back, and holds her ground; accepting that he and the world isn't ready for that. She has little hands that hold hers and tell her about how they want to be just like her when they grow up. She makes doctors appointments, and keeps them. She lets people invest in her, and knows she's a good investment. She knows that time doesn't heal all wounds or right all the wrongs; that work is ours to do. She gives her life and time wholeheartedly to her practice, and keeps some for herself too. She guards the time that she keeps for herself, and shares it selectively. She's learned that she doesn't have to give herself all away, and that her loves shouldn't expect her to. And if they do, run. She doesn't go out of her way for lovers, or need them to go out of their way for her. She has learned how and when to say "Thanks, but I'll pass" and "Yes, I'd like that." She keeps it in mind all that had to be given to the fire, and the long walk through the ashes, to get to this place.
Photo credit: Lorax Lavender Banyan
