‘you tell me to quiet down cause
my opinions make me less beautiful
but i was not made with a fire in my belly
so i could be put out
i was not made with a lightness in my tongue
so i could be easy to swallow
i was made heavy
half blade and half silk
difficult to forget but
not easy for the mind to follow’
rupi kaur
One way of making sense of what therapy is for, is that it is about reclaiming our power – stolen in increments through childhood and beyond, as we begin the long process of distorting ourselves in order to be accepted, to be loved, to fit in, to survive…
This poem is Rupi’s version of the push back, and we celebrate that. May we all find our unique personal version of ‘heavy, half blade and half silk’.
Canadian-based poet Rupi publishes her empowering poems on Instagram, features on Huffington Post and the like, and here’s a book link:-
Thank you to Emma Flint on Facebook for putting us onto this poem.
Palace Gate Counselling Service, Exeter
Counselling Exeter since 1994
