My life is shifting, the rug has gone, from right beneath my feet
I feel so numb and lost right now, I can barely even eat.
Like the sands upon the beach, that do not hold my weight
I sink into their golden grains, I lose my grounded state.
I feel myself going off balance, I might let out a scream
Those around me laugh and joke, as they run for an icecream.
They do not realise, my friend, the pain I felt back there
As the shift that happened on the sand, reflected my whole year.
Like a candle, with its flame, that gently flickers on
I was living quite contentedly, or so I thought, but I was wrong.
My flame, it very suddenly, began to sputter, jump and spit
As I watched it become jerkier, I was scared out of my wits.
Jolted from my reverie, I felt shaky, all at sea
What had happened to that reassuring glow, that always walked with me?
That sense of peace that comes to me, when I watch a candle burn
It feels like the world has paused, and I can breathe, there’s space to turn.
But now the shapes have shifted, the peaceful flame no longer soft
Its jerky and threatening, it edges harsh, the smoke it makes me cough.
I don’t know how to deal with this, or who I’m meant to be
When everything I thought was true, has played a trick on me.
The candle is no longer a friend of mine, to guide me in the dark
The sands I played in as a child, now even walking on them is hard.
Everything has shifted now, and I don’t know how to cope
My brain is jumbled, full of strands, like many strings of rope.
This is what my clients tell me, as they pick up the phone and call
They say, “I’m lost, I just don’t feel, like myself at all”.
They say, “Please help me, can you help? Or am I a lost cause?
So much has changed, what’s my purpose now? I feel so full of flaws”.
I say to them, please come to me, and find yourself a space
A constant to hang onto while the shifts are taking place.
My room is yours, for the next few weeks, or longer, if you choose
It will hold you up and guide you, it will stop you falling through.
The sands here are warm and steady, like they were when you were young
And if you do feel like you’re sinking, my room is a life jacket to put on.
The candles here are gentle, as they heal you with their light
They glimmer softly by your side, to help you through the night.
In this room you will have a constant, a place on which you can depend.
While you write a different story, with a very different end.
Change is scary, and there’s no doubt, it can make us question what’s true
But this room will show you the answers, which are all inside of you.
Copyright, Emma Oldershaw, 2025
