Breathe by Becky Hemsley

She sat at the back and they said she was shy

She led from the front and they hated her pride

They asked her advice and then questioned her guidance

They branded her loud then were shocked by her silence

When she shared no ambition, they said it was sad

So she told them her dreams and they said she was mad

They told her they’d listen then covered their ears

And gave her a hug whilst they laughed at her fears

And she listened to all of it thinking she should

Be the girl they told her to be best as she could

But one day she asked what was best for herself

Instead of trying to please everyone else

So she walked to the forest and stood with the trees

She heard the wind whisper and dance with the leaves

And she spoke to the willow, the elm and the pine

And she told them what she’d been told time after time

She told them she felt she was never enough

She was either too little or far, far too much

Too loud or too quiet, too fierce or too weak

Too wise or too foolish, too bold or too meek

Then she found a small clearing surrounded by firs

And she stopped and she heard what the trees said to her

And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave

For the forest said nothing, it just let her breathe