TO PRESENT YOURSELF AS A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS

 

TO PRESENT YOURSELF AS A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS

To present yourself as a damsel in distress

Looks fetching in fairy tales

Saved from dragons and all the rest

There you are clad in a pink gown 

With princess seams and you seem to be one

A princess, I mean,

your paper thin arms outstretched

Over the pop up paper castle balcony

Prepared to leap from danger

To live as a damsel in distress is to live with the real

Possibility of being manipulated by frog princes or hand puppets

Of being trapped by flinging yourself too hastily over the moat.

Yet if you present yourself as capable of handling your own distress

Even if the Lord God is beside you which He certainly is

GIVING you the strength

You may be regarded as too bold, no swan

But an odd duck quacking.

Alack. What is it you are lacking.

What is to be done in a world where truly

You do not wish to be bought or sold

To be part of any financial transaction

And yet, not to grow old alone.

To freely give your heart. Or perhaps to live apart if necessary

If that is the only way to be true to the One who is calling you

Most earnestly.

Abide. Endure.

Forget what other people think. 

Cling to the real possibility you have a Soul.

And you are on on the brink on earth to grow strong

To heal and to bless in this life for the Next

To prevail. To live for beauty is no disgrace

To live for Art.

In every way He allows. To keep your vows.

mary angela douglas 26 may 2024