I heard the poem Breathe while in a car, wending my way through traffic. The words were clear and simple, the final image being of the respite found in a forest where the trees pass no judgement, allowing one simply to ‘be’, free from the stresses of expectation.

Here is the final verse of the poem – best read slowly:

” … and she sat there for hours
not wanting to leave
for the forest said nothing …
it just let her breathe”

Becky Hemsley

Later I looked up the poem and its author. It has been written by Becky Hemsley, and is part of a poetry collection of hers called Talking to the Wild. The second poem that I heard her read was called Like a Girl. Both poems were lovely to hear. They sounded like wind chimes of hope above the dark dark news of conflict that flared up later on the news.

(My thanks to Becky for allowing me to use the final verse of her poem in this post)

Here she is reading Like a Girl

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023