The Reluctant Goddess

It hadn't been hard to convince her

It was in her face, day in, day out

The constant bombardment of insecurities

Slowly, insidiously, conditioning her

To believe the lies she was fed

And she'd allowed it

Swallowed the falsities

That told her she wasn't enough

Ever

The older woman

Invisible, insecure, stuck

In the roundabout of slowly leaking doubt

That kept her wondering

A bathroom cupboard

Full of half empty jars

Of promises

That were never fulfilled

A society that told her

She was past her use by date

Experience counting for nothing

Her value tied to her outward appearance

And she had bought the lies

Allowed others to dictate her worth to her

Allowed others to limit her contribution

Allowed others to keep her contained

In her little aging container

She laughed at how gullible she had been

She now saw through the lies

As she watched yet another ad promote

The deceit of youth being the only true value

Enough!

She removed the veil of invisibilty that shrouded

Her magnificent body that sang of experience and wisdom

And donned the cloak of the Goddess that she was

And then she emptied her bathroom cupboard

Of the unfulfilled promises and thinly veiled crap

With joy in her heart and a spring in her step

She threw them all a big kiss

As she stepped into all her glory

As the Wise Woman

Who would no longer be veiled

Or hidden

Or silenced

A smile crossed her lips

A swagger in her hips

She was finally free of the shroud of doubt

No longer reluctant to play her part

And it felt good.......