In celebrating women’s month, Julia Paris, a resident of Allen’s Nek, wrote a poem:
The Dance of Power
In my conditioned mind
My ego-state not the sublime,
The stress I feel,
Forces me to kneel
threatening my mental health
and, the inner wealth
of my messed-up mind.
I have a façade that all is well,
but inside of me, is no heaven, just hell.
Right now, in this moment
I want to become aware of my strengths and grow
Right now, I wish to journey within and find what there is to know.
Right now, is the time,
Right now, I aim to discover what is rightfully mine,
By birth, whilst I was tied to my mother’s girth.
My ego says no!
There is no such thing.
Shouts at me: “wake up, woman,
from your illusions of power within.
Everything you see is real and true,
Stop this nonsense of thinking you have magnificent powers
Locked up within you.”
For a moment, I hesitate
And almost the liar I believe,
I hear a soft whisper within
Telling me to let go of the struggle to conceive
My beauty, my power, without blemish or sin.
I trust the whisper and begin to release
The peace that enfold me,
Makes me smile and puts me at ease.
I struggle no more,
My fight is over,
I embrace myself, my spiritual lover.
Ecstatic joy for a moment I experience,
Outrageous love I feel,
Decades of social conditioning
And merciless pain I heal.
Without warning my ego lashes back – with a vengeance
To claim its space,
Ceasing my peace.
Flinging it away from me.
Until with critical mind I see
People doing what I absolutely resent,
Giving me no joy or self-fulfillment,
People behaving badly,
Causing me to cry sadly,
I flinch and forsake my joy,
And oh boy,
My ego will not let me be,
With self-righteous glasses
My beloved I see.
I dance with my ego,
We swirl and we twirl.
Until, intoxicated by this dance,
And in ego-filled trance,
I stand on the edge,
And drive my social conditioning wedge,
Even deeper – as I make others feel
Guilty, and forcing them to kneel.
My ego-soaked words,
So convincing and suave.
Not pausing once to contemplate
The consequences,
Nor think of all the nuances,
Until my power within,
Steps in like a bullfighter to stop the raging ego-bull,
From flinging me up in to the sky, stopping my fall –
Catching me, and creating a soft landing for my bruised pride.
From deep within a strength emerges, waves of love, they surge and surge,
Again, the feeling of radiance and joy,
An inner peace, a love for myself –
So great, I fully enjoy.
I can move mountains, oh, what faith!
I can jump and shout and laugh without abate
I am free.
Ego get behind me. Let me be who I am –
Authentically me.
