Surrendering
I’ve left behind the skins of my old self
Because how else will I grow?
I step through the doorway to a world far removed from the stage I’d just performed on
I look back at the past selves I have shed, am trying to shed, am trying to leave behind in the surrender box
No doubt some fear, procrastination, dissatisfaction, inferiority complex and depression will follow me wherever I travel
But luckily I can shed as many times as I need to
I’m armed and ready for my journey
As the others are too
We all have our maps and special bags packed with things to help us along the way
Bless the woman who is le Enchanteur, our guide, our motivator and the ignition to our creative fires
I adjust the straps on my bags and smooth my skirt
I check the soles of my boots and estimate that they should last until I reach the House of the Serpent
I spy a strange looking animal watching me from the bushes
And my old self would have been afraid
But I’d been told that this might happen and so I strode confidently up to the beast
She looked at me with wary eyes
As I examined her I couldn’t figure out whether I was supposed to climb onto her back or take her reigns
I didn’t even know what creature she might be
Something between a horse, a hippopotamus and a bird (wings only)
I started walking along the Serpentine Road
Realising that I was alone with this creature because I’d dawdled (again)
I turned to look at her and she seemed to know what I wanted
She soon caught up and walked beside me, snorting softly and clip clopping at a leisurely pace
I sensed we’d be good travelling companions
by Creativesque
I surrender
Anon! I come with satchel and spade
Reins in hand, astride my humble steed
Wait!
I feel I have left something important behind
Methinks ….
Yes, it is… something that has held me back
For far too long…
Rigidity
Encapsulated in a wrung out skin called
Fear
It is only important because now I am left
Unencumbered by shedding the skin
Of burdens it enshrouded me with
The leaving has left me Free
Now
Ah! The new country ahead
Promises discoveries
I am of the plant world knowing
Collector of herbs and maker of medicines
Speaking the language of green things and lofty trees
There!
All is well.
I ride free now
Stella Raye 2006
SSS…Surrender
SSS…Surrender snake/skin/like -
The illusion, delusion,
uber care and consequence of old, -
Oxford English dictionary:
Surrender: (I do) Give up the old,
the useless, the illusion of try and fail, the
over responsible, the ridiculous.
(I do not) hand over, give in to another
person/person’s power or control,
especially (not) on demand or under
compulsion. Done.
Clarity of Mind.
Clarity – Oxford English Dictionary:
Clearness. (Clear) –
No vague shadows of the way,
the old, the lie, the compulsion
of the old order/structure
of time. The leaves of those
days are long dry, and
nourish the earth in gratitude for
the crisp green bloom of
renewal. I give gladly
and without unusual suffering,
these things to the earth,
to nourish the wisdom of
loam.
Monika Roleff 2006
Setting Out
As I set out on this road that beckons me, I prepare myself for the journey like I have prepared for no other. I may be a seasoned traveller, have a nomadic heritage, but this isn’t a journey like others have been. On this path, I will not need to pack up all my belongings, taking the weight of my life with me, to set up home elsewhere. I will not be asked to go somewhere against my will, against my own desire. I will have choices, starting from right now. And best of all, I really can travel light. I have always had hope and excitement at the start of every journey, but I have also had a stubborn determination to forge ahead, trampling all the while on everything that has gone before, lest the grief, the sadness, those feelings I should have let myself experience, held me back. And I’ve had the burden of what awaits me to face, the expectations of others, a new group of new faces. So I’ve learned over the years to wear a mask, to be as far as possible what others expect of me, to hide the flaws, hide the scars, hide the darkness, to be the person that will elicit smiles, friendliness, the person who fits in. Not on this journey. On this journey, I will leave this mask, which has indeed become like a skin, behind in the surrender box. It may have served me before, but it does not belong on this journey. On this journey, I will set out naked and free to be the person I am.
by Verity
I’d just dumped my timidity and fear in the surrender box but when the painted tangle of snakes on the door began to writhe, I passed through very quickly and did not look back.
“Ah, sunlight!” I found myself sighing in relief.
“They were just trying to get a rise out of you,” rabbit offered, but I noticed it gave a furtive little shiver.
“Will you be coming with me?” I was surprised to see it still by my side.
“Uh, well, I guess that’s up to you and your ride,” it answered as we dodged out of the way of a camel who’d nearly plowed into us. Several dromedaries and twenty or so braying donkeys were milling about the wide roadway trying to connect with excited tour members. I noticed a few old friends among the many new faces, but conversation was impossible amid the noise and chaos of people, animals and belongings.
“Who ya’ looking for?” my new friend asked.
“Oh, someone who’s not here, I guess. I traveled with Geraldine last year and I’d so love to see her again.”
“She’s uh, out to here right now,” it told me, sitting and patting it’s belly,” but her daughter’s around somewhere, I just saw her hat.” Rabbit sat tall, all of fifteen inches or so and scanned the crowd.
“Georgina?” The moment I called, an adorable little jenny in a straw hat with red flowers whinnied and pushed her way through the crowd toward me. “Oh, my gosh, you look just like your mother! How is she?”
“I hope not, ” she giggled, “she’s having twins, but she’s content and told me to look for you. Hey, Belinda!”
“Hey, Georgie Girl, first trip for le enchanteur, whoo hoo, this should be fun!”
I was wrapping my mind around “Belinda” as a most unlikely name for this feisty rabbit, when suddenly the noise ceased, the chaos evaporated, and we three remained alone with nothing but the dusty road serpentining into the distance. Poor Georgina looked about to faint and I felt a bit dizzy, but rabbit was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
“That was so cool!” it said, thumping its’ back foot in exuberance and breaking into song, “On the road again, it feels so good to be on the road. . . . . . . . “
This was going to be one interesting trip!
by Barbara Banta
