Taking Bearings Poem by Lynn Anne Brown

I've died three times

Once in giving birth
Once in Sordid circumstances
Once when my womb went bad

And each time the veil got thinner
It got harder to know which side I was walking on
Disoriented, I stopped and took my bearings
Got out my torch, my book, my keys
And set out on a Journey

The last time was just over five years ago
This time knowing
It was going to be a choice
And so I bargained with my life
I asked, no I demanded
From all the Gods
The Universe itself
That it Take me
Or Make it better
I was angry then
Yet never more full of faith
That if I lived things would get better
And if I died, then maybe next time round
And things have gotten better
And they keep getting better every day
As I find folk who share a belief
In the value of taking human form
And Celebrate it by making the most of it.