I'm From by Michele Ross

I’m from

High rise estate with no trees,

Family out of back to backs,

2p race and bingo nights

Concrete church.

I’m from

Not fitting in.

Steel pans, alsatians snapping,

All day Pentecostal singing,

Five family house with Minton hall,

Riots down the road.

I’m from

Spicy corner shop.

Victorian pool swimming with leaves,

Cycle to the fields to breathe,

Long lazy Sundays in

African time.

I’m from

Expelled kids making good,

Playing pool with disaffected youth,

Allotment packed with coriander,

Urban farm and music theatre,

All thrown in the pot together,

Chickens running loose.

I’m from

Young kids in red light houses,

Doped up rasta baby daddies,

Pack of dogs and our dead kitten,

Wary walks to school.

I’m from

Well-meaning white liberals,

Boys brigade march with trumpets;

Mosque and church

As good neighbours,

Rum-soaked cake.

I’m from

Let’s get stuck into building bridges

Carnivals and protest marches

Dad at home sewing dresses,

Billy Graham and Bishop Tutu rallies;

Police horse,

School girl flasher,

Planning my escape.

An Unexpected Smile by Michele Ross

The aching hole in my life

Has filled with

So many people.

As if they were waiting

For a sign

To let them in.

I was holding them

At arms length,

Not sure how

To approach the subject

Of our greater intimacy.

Now I am raw,

They see a way in.

They enfold me with

A warm hug

An unexpected smile.

And I surrender.

I met my younger self for coffee by Michele Ross

Looking Back by Astrid Knudsen

The skinny girl in the corner

With short hair and deep eyes

Considers me with palpable

negative vibes.

Surely there is no good news

from the future.

Didn’t it all go wrong?

All the same,

there is hope

hiding there.

I know,

because it bubbles up in me,

still,

whatever happens.

I say to her:

Stick at it.

Be confident.

Aim for the best job,

the best house,

the best man.

Make the most of your youth.

Make time for family,

they will always be there.

And when you find a real friend

never let go.

You will stop feeling sad - eventually.

Finding your place in the world

will help,

And having a child of your own to love.

Make sure you do this, whatever happens.

And bad things will happen.

But you will survive them.

Don’t let your trust and love

be squashed.

I love you.

Many others will love you.

I am in you - and you in me.

There is a long life ahead of you,

And I don’t know the ending.

But everything changes.

Nothing - good or bad - lasts.

Live for each moment.

Be free.

Be you.

ANOTHER ME

When we met,

I hesitated.

Should I tell her

what I see?

How could I

withhold my guidance?

She should have

a better life than me.

Could I really let her:

stick with the wrong man,

live in dark for so long,

ignore potential death pain,

pick the wrong man again?

But then,

would she have a beautiful son,

And end up in this

friendly, tumbling town?

As I began to speak,

picking my way

through the minefield

of time travel,

I gradually faded away.

Light by Michele Ross

  Turn toward the light.

Let your back be a shield against the night.

Even when your eyelids close,

for the very last time -

-let your inner light shine.