A THOUSAND TIGERS by Ruth Calder Murphy

We are all caged, to an extent, at points in our lives.

By circumstances, by other people’s opinions, by wanting to fit in, by fear of the unknown… The list is probably endless – every person will have a slightly different set of things that form their “bars”.

Often, our cages are comfortable and it would be easiest to simply stay inside them, using the soft, comfortable bars as pillows. Often, beyond the cage is frightening and tigers are prowling. Fears of losing other people’s respect, losing one’s own certainty or assurance, stepping into an unknown, outside one’s comfort zone…

But the door of the cage is open and each of us has wings, if we choose to use them. That moment when I decided that my wings were stronger than the tigers, that my freedom was more valuable than the comfort: that moment I began to be free.

A Thousand Tigers

The door of my cage is open.

Will I dare

go there,

where tigers prowl?

The bars of my cage are soft.

Will they be

pillows for me

to dream of freedom?

Or will they yield to my touch,

my wings stretched wide,

fall away at the up beat

and on the down beat,

watch me rise?

My wings have the strength of a thousand tigers.

The door of my cage is open

and the world waits.

~
(This poem relates to the title of Ruth's poetry book:
"Wings of A Thousand Tigers" available on Amazon here)

Ruth Calder Murphy is a writer, artist, music teacher, wife and mother living in London, UK. Her life is wonderfully full of creativity and low-level chaos. She is the author of one published novel, “The Scream,” several books of poetry and one or two as-yet unpublished novels. She is passionate about celebrating the uniqueness of people, questioning the unquestionable and discovering new perspectives on old wonders. She is learning to ride the waves that come along—peaks and troughs—and is waking up to just how wonderful life really is. You can visit Ruth and view more of her art on her website here, or on her Facebook page. Her latest book is available on Amazon here, and here.

~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!~

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