Tigress
Going where I will, doing as I please
Head up high - prowling with a purpose
Watch out - I'm lovable but mean
Sometimes sweet as a kitten, sometimes ferocious as a tiger
All at the same time
Patient, everwaiting and ready to pounce
Tigrish grin growing ever wider
It's the hunt that matters, not the kill
It's all or nothing for me
This is what it means to live
These tiger eyes see much
much more than people realize
Unassuming strength under striped fur
Independent, adventurous and playful too
Delightfully unpredictable in my own orderly way
I need to roam, I need the space and freedom
You won't hold me back - kill that and you kill me
Leave me alone - but please be there for me
Give me my space - but please be close
I need you almost as much as I don't need you
Bothersome I know, but - treat me well,
and you have my love and loyalty in this life and beyond
Listen good
Who has made the greatest impact on my life? I
suppose I could say my mother. Or my father. They made me
after all and their actions and their words shaped me into what I find
myself today. That's a given. But who I want to talk about right now is
a guy by the name of Bryan.
There are millions of Bryan's out there, but
this particular one is quite special to me for many reasons. When was
the last time you yourself met someone who really listened to
you? And I mean really. Someone who wasn't just nodding at what you're
saying, or interrupting you with their own stories. Someone who hears
not only the words you speak but the feelings beyond them. I'm talking
about a remarkable individual who empathizes, not sympathizes; their
attention is focused only on you. They makes you feel Heard with a
captial H.
Have you had the unspoken understanding of a
fellow human being who eases the loneliness you feel? This person who
listens so intently as tearfully, you spill it all in long, rambling,
barely coherant sentences but they understand anyway? Or phoning them
up in the middle of the night because of the wonderful news that leaves
you incapable of sitting still for even a minute? Either way they
listen indulgently. This is not a fair weather friend.
Being really heard.. this is a precious gift
that I treasure and I silently thank whoever is up there everytime I
speak to him.
When my life was crumbling apart around me and
I was backed into a corner, numb and unable to cry out for help, Bryan
came into my life. It was a causal thing; he came strolling by, as if
completely by chance, and he stopped and he listened to that girl
backed into the corner. Perhaps he found it strange that the girl
started telling him all these things about herself and her life and the
girl found it even stranger that she was telling it to him, but that
man did not walk away - he listened to her. And then she could open up
again.
Gradually she found she could stand up straight
once more. And as she talked about the crumbling world, she realized
that it wasn't so bad, that only a small part was broken, and even that
could be mostly repaired.
I think perhaps that many tragedies from all
walks of life could be averted if that scared little boy or that scared
little girl inside of us had someone who willing to listen.
The understanding.. it's like water for the
parched soul, like food for the starving body slowly withering away.
It's beautiful sunlight warming the ground that has been shrouded in
darkness for far too long.
Listen to the people in your life. Really
listen. It might save their life.
Email: rochdale.writers@tudo.co.uk
attn. Thalia de Jesús
Offer: First Serial Rights (for any given territory)
Payment: By arrangement.
Copyright 2002-2003: Thalia de Jesús