Skip to main content

BEAUTIFUL by Ulli Stanway

This morning I saw me. All of me…

It happened when I went to have a shower and took my clothes off; I noticed myself. I saw my body for the first time in a very long time. In that moment I felt an unknown sensation running through my whole being. Acceptance? Joy? Maybe even love? For who I am?  How long have my body and soul waited for this... one moment….of Clarity.


Beautiful
by Ulli Stanway


Today I saw me
With all there is
And all there is not
The perfect little imperfections
All of me
And I smiled softly
At this image in the mirror

Today I saw beyond the mirror
I took a dive into the depth of me
I am so much more than thighs with cellulite
And an ever gently bulging abdomen

I spent years trying to be this perfect thing
For others who truly did not even care
I tried to copy red lips and make up
I hid behind designer clothes
And expensive creams
I took ice cold showers to rid myself of nature’s choices
I criticized many parts of me
I tried desperately to change
What was never meant to be changed
My uniqueness slowly drowned in the carbon copy effect
Of being like “her”
My beauty unnoticed by me for many years …

Today I took a look
In the mirror
And I saw me
All of me
I am curves
I am all the shapes that have been created by my ancestors
I am soft skin
I am beautiful hair
I am a gentle face with an honest smile
I am a woman
A goddess in her own right
I am waking up to see
I am allowing myself to see the truth of me

I am love
I am healthy
I am strong
I am beautiful
I am me.

Ulli Stanway: "I am a 41 year old rising poetess/writer/day dreamer and life lover. I live in Melbourne Australia with my beautiful husband. I love nature and I am a confessing tree hugger. I am working on my dream website called “Desire your own happiness”, which I hope will inspire other kindred souls to follow their own dreams and skip down a path they truly enjoy. I believe in becoming your authentic self, become who you are with all your quirkiness, weirdness and amazing talents. We don’t need to have countless copies of the same story being told. Be you, all that you are and that is perfectly enough. And you are so very needed. My mantra is taking your shoes off and run barefoot, in the rain whenever possible. Embrace everything you are. Here and now."


~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IMAGINE A WOMAN by Patricia Lynn Reilly

  This poem invites you to look upon yourself with loving kindness… Gazing at your own true reflection, you will discover that everything you have longed for “out there” is already within you! I invite you to love your creativity fiercely. Faithfully plant seeds, allowing under-the-ground dormant seasons, nurturing your creative garden with love and gratitude. In the fullness of time, the green growing things thrust forth from the ground. It's a faithful, trustworthy process. AND it takes time and patience.  Blessed is the fruit of your creative womb! I invite you to trust your vision of the world and express it. With wonder and delight, paint a picture, create a dance, write a book, and make up a song. To give expression to your creative impulses is as natural as your breathing. Create in your own language, imagery, and movement. Follow no script. Do not be limited by the customary way things have been expressed. Your creative intuition is original. Gather
20 comments
Read more

THE JOURNEY by Mary Oliver

Today we honor Mary Oliver (1936-2019) and all the words she left behind. May they inspire you on your journey!  Excerpt from Mary Oliver’s book Long Life: Essays and Other Writings : "Poets must read and study... but, also, they must learn to tilt and whisper, shout, or dance, each in his or her own way, or we might just as well copy the old books. But, no, that would never do, for always the new self swimming around in the old world feels itself uniquely verbal.  And that is just the point: how the world, moist and bountiful, calls to each of us to make a new and serious response. That's the big question, the one the world throws at you every morning. 'Here you are, alive. Would you like to make a comment?'" The Journey By Mary Oliver  One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice-- though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug
2 comments
Read more

STILL I RISE by Maya Angelou

Six years ago, I had the privilege of listening to Maya Angelou speak live on the value of poetry at the University of Florida. I share these reflections with you again today, in honor of her birthday.  I was relieved to get one of the last seats available for this rare event, having arrived at five for Maya Angelou ’s free speech at eight. The historically long line began with people settled into beach chairs in winter coats busying themselves on tablets, or eating sandwiches for dinner. As helicopters hovered above and newscasters below, I felt the excitement of realizing that thousands of people were gathering together to hear an eighty four year old black woman recite her poetry! Maya Angelou speaking at University of Florida on Feb. 27, 2013  When the curtain rose -after an overflow of hundreds were sent away- we lucky ones on the inside greeted Maya with a standing ovation, as she smiled sweetly, beginning her talk using metaphors from nature. Maya asked that we
4 comments
Read more