As children it’s to struggle from the womb
thrusting forwards, upwards into life
The joy of movement, touch, of sight and growth
and most of all of learning how to play
And how to return from shadow into light.
As adults our freedom is to build
giving life and striving beyond our strength
Joy in the fulness of creation and ourselves
learning to take our burdens in our stride
And knowing we shall return into the light.
And where is freedom in our middle life?
that most hidden, especially from the young
It is to learn from silence and the void
to see what is and also what is not
To sacrifice the things we never had
and celebrate each moment as it comes.
For freedom can’t be bought or earned
We search for it – but it has slipped away
leaving us bound – until we give away
ourselves – this hour – our fulness and our hopes
And freedom comes unbidden as our gift.
In memoriam: Ann died in 2025
Photo by Lynne Roberts
