17/10/2023
CATCH THE COMPLIMENTS
I have seen a hundred compliments,
launched lovingly in your direction,
that you swatted away like flies in summer.
And I have seen too,
a handful of hurtful words,
fired at your fortifications,
which you immediately allowed through,
picked up with both hands,
made a home in your heart for,
and kept for all time.
And on days when your heart is sore,
you reach for those dark words that hurt
and press them till they hurt more.
And the compliments?
They floated away on the breeze,
never to be seen again.
My friend, I wish, from this day on,
that you begin to catch those compliments.
That you shine them to display on a shelf,
in full view.
And you chase those harmful words from your door,
never to be seen again.
And so, to begin your collection…
‘You are warm, unique, loving and kind
and the world is better with you in it.”
I hope this launches a hundred more…
Donna Ashworth
This poem is from my new book ‘Wild Hope’
Art by the FABULOUS Lindsay Rapp Gallery
