“Silences make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying, but the never needing to say is what counts.”

- Margaret Lee Runbeck

Tree

A friend invited me to an exhibit a while back about the different works of women throughout history. Initially, I wasn't really interested in going and told him, "I already know what they're gonna show and talk about. Women empowerment blahblahblah I get it. I'm all for it. I don't need to go to another one of those shows to be 'inspired' or whatever." After a whooole lot of convincing, I gave in and finally went. I vaguely remember seeing a lot of cool stuff. But the only one I will never forget was the poem below with the image of a woman with outstretched arms, so carefree, and peaceful. She had a tattoo done on her right chest after many months of healing and wrote about her story.

I am no longer afraid of mirrors where I see the sign of the amazon,

The one who shoots arrows.

There was a fine red line across my chest where a knife entered,

But now a branch winds about the scar and travels from arm to heart.

Green leaves cover the branch, grapes hang there and a bird appears.

What grows in me now is vital and does not cause me harm.

I think the bird is singing.

I have relinquished some of the scars.

I have designed my chest with the care given to an illuminated manuscript.

I am no longer ashamed to make love.

Love is a battle I can win.

I have the body of a warrior who does not kill or wound.

On the book of my body, I have permanently inscribed a tree.

- Deena Metzger, Tree, Photograph by Hella Hammid

For all the brave women who continue to fight breastcancer.

You are awesome.

Heavy

Now I've come to cry

Shed your skin to rest

My naked eye and criticize

All that I implore seems to be

One foot outside that door

Coming between me and waking

Underneath the corset

Of your mystery

Piece by piece, undress you

From your history

I'm sleeping with seclusion

In sweet disarray

You can go heavy on me

And I will not weigh you down, down, down

You can be steady and clean

I can take it heavy on me

And I will not weigh you down, down, down

Born unto this pride

Silence is something you can't hide

You can't deny us, oh

Nothing has been said, yet so many words have filled my head

Now they completely surround me

Tie the lines of honest conductivity

Caught between the center of our gravity

I don't have that much time to burn anymore

You can go heavy on me

And I will not weigh you down, down, down

You can be steady and clean

I can take it heavy on me

And I will not weigh you down

Underneath the corset of your mystery

Piece by piece, undress you from your history

I'm sleeping with seclusion in sweet disarray, ah
You can go heavy on me

And I will not weigh you down, down, down

You can be steady and clean

I can take it heavy on me

And I will not weigh you down, no

I will not weigh you down

- Heavy by Holly Brook

Nice Guys Finish Last

"You want to know why nice guys finish last? It’s because they aren’t willing to take a chance, they’re too tied to their rules. They see their girl at her most vulnerable moment, and instead of doing what they perceive as a dick move, they put their arms around her and they hold her. They listen to her weep and they don’t take control of the situation. She’s too precious to cut off. Let her weep.

Let me tell you this: nothing makes a broken woman feel more beautiful than to have a man swoop in and push her up against a wall to tell her how much better she is than that. To kiss her, I mean really kiss her, regardless of what she might think about that. You know why nice guys finish last? It’s because when a guy named Bayne leaves you for no good reason and you feel like you’ve been reduced to nothing, my nice guy won’t come over and say the things I really need to hear to understand that he loves me, I mean really loves me. Us ladies, we know we’re beautiful, we know we’re intelligent, we know we’re worth it and we’ll find “him” someday. What we really need to hear and more importantly feel (at that moment — from you, the nice guy)) is that we’re sexy, that our inner organs that separate us from you guys are actually worth something. That we’re so beautiful that you can’t and don’t care whether or not that kiss you’ve so desperately wanted to plant on us is going to ruin our friendship. We want you, the nice guy, to rebel against your rules and just do what feels right. Take control of the situation and tell us that this is fucking it, you are in love with me. You are so in love with me that you are so unbelievably ready to ruin our friendship for a chance at love. That you are willing to pick up that bat and attempt to hit the ball out of the fucking stadium. Because either you strike out or you hit a home run. No one wants to sit in the dugout."

Taken from http://leloveimage.blogspot.com/