i will be the light
hammers are not made
of cloud,
and neither are nightmares
made of unbreakable
steel;

i will be the light
that breaks open clouds,
and shatters
nightmares
so they no longer have
any teeth—

i feel their fangs
have bitten this world
long enough,
so i will be the moon that
brings about a song
of reality that hurts less
than any we have
ever known;

i believe my magic is
strong enough for this.
–linda m. crate

---

paint a better world
graveyards
are for the living,
for the dead
know their names;

perhaps they
even don
new ones in their new
lives—

sometimes i pray
in a kinder
universe
than this one,

but if they must return
to us in this
one that will help
shatter all the nightmares
this world has
ever known so we can feel
the light of the sun without the
crushing tongue of defeat or doom

brushing us in a painting—

let’s break the paint brush,
and paint a better world.
–linda m. crate

---

i need a faerie godmother
my childhood is
a dress from gossamer thread,
being the eldest daughter
i was expected to take care
of everyone else but no one
ever took care of me;

i was expected to be self-sufficient
and always told i was strong when
i asked for help instead of actually
being given help—

sometimes i wish that i had been
given a dress of many feathers,
instead of this dress of glass which will
easily shatter should i ever grow
weary from the weight of the world;

but like always i suppose i’ll have
to rely on my own magic to make it
something less heavy and cumbersome—

it would be nice to have a faerie
godmother like maleficent was to
aurora in the live action movies,
someone who could make it all happen
with one whim of their magic effortlessly.
–linda m. crate

---

the people you don’t forget
unique is hard
to describe,
but you know it when
you see it or feel it;

originality wrapped
in a bow so different from
anything else you’ve

ever known—

some turn their nose
up at it,
but i actually find it refreshing;

i love that new things
can be invented in an old
world—

i love seeing those who choose
to define themselves rather than
allowing the world to define
them because more often than not
people get it wrong,

so i like seeing people express
themselves in ways i’ve never seen
before;

people like that you don’t forget.
–linda m. crate

---

beautiful as the moon
let me disappear into nature,
from the forest to the glen;

i’ll grow a pair of inky
black feathers like those
of a crow—

i’ll live in the purest blue skies,
and shelter in a woodland
cottage during storms;

i will be free of society
and all the damage
they’ve caused me and those
i once loved—

maybe there i can know
a place called magic,
the place who can give me
a comfortable song who will embrace
me in all of my phases;
tell me i am as beautiful as the moon.
–linda m. crate

---

illuminate
starting from nothing
can be rewarding,
books wouldn’t be written
if an author didn’t first
sit down and write it;

i love the act of creation,
making something
of nothing—

adding a little bit of magic
to a world who seems to
have forgotten it,
whispering a bit of whimsy
in a world who often
forgets
how to dream;

nightmares run rampant—
i think it’s important to
create light when and where we can
to illuminate those who have a hard time
seeing in the dark.
-linda m. crate

---

She is doing well with the Challenge. How are you doing ?

i believe in magic
choosing to live
is sometimes
difficult,

in a world that is
not kind;
in a world that profits
off your self-doubt
and your anxiety—

but i think of all
the people who love me,
of fizzy, of every flower
i have yet to see;
of every rainbow i haven’t
glanced at yet or every
crow song i have not yet heard,
every walk in the forest i have yet
to take and every magical thing
i have yet to experience—

& sometimes i stop and remind
myself that i am magic, too;
in a world that doesn’t believe

so i must believe in myself.
–linda m. crate

---

pain demands to be felt
pain is subjective,
and there’s also
so many different
kinds of pain;

the body holds onto
echoes of the past—

trauma is trapped
in your bones
and muscles,
pain demands to be
felt;

i’ve always had a high
tolerance to pain
but i can still feel it—

sometimes i think it’s worse when
you have a high tolerance to
something because people pile on
and on and on and expect that you
won’t complain because you can
handle a lot,

but i deserve to be thought of
and treated with respect;
i deserve to be loved in a way that
makes sense to me—

i don’t mind sharing your burdens,
but don’t make me carry it all;
i have my own to carry—rarely has
anyone helped me with mine.
–linda m. crate

---

if you need a journey
when walking around
a carpet of cats
one must be very
careful,

because one clumsy
wrong move and you could harm
one of the beautiful creatures;

so you have to navigate slowly
and carefully allowing each
cat the freedom and space to lay
or move as they wish—

the smartest move would to be
walk around the carpet
because going through it will take
some time and i find often
we’re all in a hurry to get somewhere
fast,

but if you have the time to spare
and need a journey;

perhaps through is just the way
you need to go—
i guess it depends on what you need
to do.
–linda m. crate

---

just look at the crows
i often have dreamed of
moonlit skies filled
with stars,

i once dreamed
of falling through the milky-way
without a space suit
or helmet required;

simply falling through the
laughter of light that was stars

& learning the wisdom of the ages—

when i returned to earth
nothing had changed,
people still didn’t understand me
and i couldn’t fathom them;

but i suppose most magical creatures
are misunderstood:
just look at the crows.
–linda m. crate

---

She is doing well with the Challenge. How are you doing ?