Ep 3 - Liberty: what if it's inside?

What if, when all was topsy turvy,
in a place not far from here,
there was a mum called Liberty,
who saved her world from fear?

What if our hero
was barely getting through each day –
then on Thursday night
at 8 o’clock, she clapped and cried, then clasped her hands to pray?

What if the cracks
are starting to show
and I’m about to break?

What if this ‘me’
seeping through
is someone I can’t take?

What if I like
to social distance –
there’s no one else to fear?

What if I go out
and somebody
comes a bit too near?

What if I know
I’m lucky
and I should not complain?

What if every
time I shout
my children hear my pain?

What if, later on that night
when Libby closed her screens
a strange thought found its way to her
and chased her through her dreams

What if the enemy is not
Boris, lockdown,
or my family?

What if the
villain in this tale
lurks inside of me?

What if celebs,
and influencers
are ‘so 2019’?

What if some
heroes wear masks,
while others hug and clean?

What if I need
to strip off my
emotional PPE?

What if to
be a hero,
I just have to be me?

What if stories
about villains have
had me for a fool?

What if Muslims
who cover faces
are alright after all?

What if I stopped
looking for thoughts
to sabotage my head?

What if I track
and trace things
to learn from instead?

What if there is
grief and fear
beneath my rage?

What if it’s ok
for me to feel,
and leave behind my cage?

What if what
Rumi said
was actually true?

What if the
wound is where
the light gets into you?

What if it hurts
so much
because it really matters?

What if someone
new and real
is rising from the tatters?

What if on Friday morning,
while Liberty sipped tea,
she cracked a funny smile,
for she knew that she was free?

What if you now take this tale
and make yourself a brew,
and imagine that the hero
is really me… or you?