December 12, 2023No Comments

The Strength & Power of Whispers

The Strength & Power of Whispers

You are no longer alone
My brave soul
Breathe

With a nod
I acknowledge your courage
Your expressive truth
Your knowing

For the experiential quilt of words your authenticity brings
I am grateful

November 23, 2023No Comments

UNTITLED

UNTITLED

This ain’t easy at all,
So bravo to you,
You brave and authentic soul,
What courage you show,
To know you are no longer alone,

Courage,

I know you felt as if you had no air to breathe for quite some time,
A long time to be quite real,
(But) Now you are free to breathe,

Truly I tell you, what courage you show,

Let breathing be a reminder to you of the present time of where you are destined to be,
What a brave soul you are,
Only God knows the tightness you experienced within,
Trying to gasp for air through the suffocations of the experience,

This is not easy to express let alone to have experienced…
As a little child,
Hence, I am truly grateful for you,

Remember, I will always be here as a reminder to your Truth,
To your knowing,
By the simple acts of nodding and acknowledging all you have been through,
Yet, are still going through,

Oh my poor soul,
In the midsts of this e-motional pain,
You don’t ever have to explain to another soul,
It’s up to you and you only,
You only my inner child,

A quilt of words is all you need,
Remember, the strength and power lies in your whispers,
Trust me my child,
Believe me,
You are here, and never alone,
I love you,
The Lord loves you.

November 11, 2023No Comments

“YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!”

"Beyond your breath your whisper is knowing, brave and courageous. You opened up your soul, authenticity and the truth. You showed your strength and beauty and you are no longer alone."
(Author- Stefan (group facilitator at The Gatehouse)

September 11, 2023No Comments

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

“Affection” was used as a mental shove.
Tricked into belief of a “shared love”
Abusers baited a child’s capacity to trust,
As “sweet” words and lies freely gushed.

Framed as friendship, affection, and care,
Belonging and status used to ensnare.
Intent was disguised - the grooming was planned.
So powerful any child could not understand.

Those first SIGNS OF ABUSE took time to spot,
Until vile infections showed their rot.
Sharp change of character – no “shine” anymore.
Unhealthy behaviours - unknown before.

Secretive actions and moody faces.
Frightened of some situations and places.
Gifts, money, and drugs found hidden away.
Unable or unwilling to explain or say.

Shyness and uncertainty chipped away –
A child’s precious worth eroded each day.
It started online, then in person too.
A child subdued - then told what to do.

Sexualised phrases took over online chats.
“Normalising” explicit words and acts.
“Persuaded” to post explicit themes,
Then share THOSE “pics, films, and streams”.

Next, a child agrees to go and meet,
The exploiter is waiting, acting discreet.
The child is taken and abused some more.
Then passed to others not mentioned before.

Abused by one, then many perpetrators,
Violence, degradation – the evillest natures.
Then simply discarded like trash on the ground,
A near lifeless shell is eventually found.

A traumatised child with bleeds and bruises.
Damaged inside-out as innocence loses.
PLEASE – work together to stop “CSE”
Look for any signs and have empathy.

September 4, 2023No Comments

Exploitation

Exploitation is a smoking gun,
Stealing choices from our young.
It shoots at futures, leaving them dead.
Like bullets, grooming rattles through heads.

Exploitation is a blade thrusting deep,
Murdering families as grief steals sleep.
It uses tactics like pressure and threats,
Pushing gifts & drugs to create “work debts”.

Exploitation is a social media disease,
Using platforms to “recruit” with ease.
It fakes aspects of life to trick and coerce,
Making alternatives seem weak or worse.

Exploitation is lurking by shops and schools,
Dangling temptation to follow new “rules”.
It offers to help with what kids might want,
Sucking them in with status or front.

Exploitation is at first a friendly disguise,
As kids look in with innocent eyes.
It picks at any child’s perceived weakness,
Offering fake futures away from life’s “bleakness”.

Exploitation is a destroyer of homes,
Forcing kids “Out There” to “Carry” and roam.
It plugs inside children – just like drug wraps,
Abandoned to fend-off rival attacks.

Exploitation is bribery then assault,
Hurting and beating to get a “result”.
It brands and degrades to destroy any bravery,
Entrenching children in modern slavery.

August 22, 2023No Comments

All my memories

I am from…
The lovely building
Where I played with my friends
At the age of 6
While he ogled from the other end.

I am from the swings
The slides, the seasaw and laughter,
From the cherished monsoon of 1990
And not from what he did to me soon after.

I am from the motherly love of my babysitter,
Whom I called “aai”, or mother in Marathi.
From that first taste of meat and fish
that she lovingly cooked for me.

I am from her delicious spicy mutton curry,
That I’d gulp down in a hurry,
From the maddening smell of rassa,
That stays with me to this day.

Neatly, deeply, lovingly knitted into my life
I am from the spice in Maharashtrian food.
I am from the peanuts, garlic, and the rich coconutty konkan curries
That love me in my lowest moods.
For they are me. And I am from them.

I am from trust, faith, and innocence
From joy, laughter, and pain.
I am from hugs and love for my baby sitter
I have not lost, I gained.

I am from acceptance and from rebellion
I am from anger but from wisdom
I am brave and I remember
I am from my memories.
Not just some.
I am from all my memories.

- Swe

August 10, 2023No Comments

HUNGER

HUNGER

“You need to eat before you pass out.
Hello?
Missy?
Why aren’t you eating?
What's wrong with you?”

…hurt
hurt, hurt, HURT.

Why should I eat, when they starved me for over a decade?
Eat before I pass out you say?
But I've already passed out,

And NO!
It wasn't because I didn't eat,
That's what they kept voicing,
But it WASN'T because I didn’t eat!
It’s simply because I am not being me,

“Me?
What kind of foolishness are you talking about?”

I’m talking about expressing my need for hunger,
My need,
My desperation,
My hurt,
For hunger.

hunger, hunger, hunger,
For my dark soul,
Deep below,
Deep within,
All alone,

He’s all I ever thirst or hunger for,
For He fills me up with His wisdom and knowledge,
On how to be hungry for me,
Before I pass out in the hands of my roots once again.

He reminds me,
Only I can feed myself now,
Feed me with oneness in my mind, body, heart, and soul,

And for that, I am grateful to know,
To have the Lord be part of my dusty life,
The life He can take back,
In the split of a second,
Amen.

The Gatehouse