Mabh Savage
Words and the world passing by; how it sings to me; how I clamour back.
I’m on Spotify!
My song, Seraphim, is available on Spotify from today!
Click this link to listen, and please feel free to let me know what you think in the comments.
If you enjoy my music or writing, please consider helping me create more! Become a patron at Patreon, or simply buy me a coffee at Ko-Fi.
I’m hoping to release more tracks through the year, so watch this space!
Have a great weekend.
Going in Pairs
Lads roll their eyes
When they see us pop
To the loo in pairs
Easy to be blasé
When you’ve never been groped
And had no one believe you
Never been pinned against a wall
Never been leered at
With no one to back you up
Never stalked in a dark corridor
Like some sort of prey,
Weak only because
Of foolish patriarchy
That somehow thinks
We would make these things up
Like it’s jolly to say
‘I was touched’
‘I was hurt’
‘I was raped’
Who says these things for fun?
Not all men! Comes the cry.
Of course, and likewise
Not all women lie.
So don’t begrudge us
The fragile safety net of
Going in pairs.
At the Seaside
We went to Hornsea this weekend. It’s where my fiancé’s parents live, so we go fairly often. It’s almost inevitable that we’ll end up on the beach. Even when the kids don’t demand it, I do! And the dog has two walks a day down there, getting rowdy and sandy.
This is a ‘creature house’. In order to understand its purpose, you’d need to have a better grasp of the seven-year-old’s mind than I! For the past few visits, he’s insisted on building one of these. First we have to source the right stones; a firm foundation. Then they have to be laid out quite precisely. Then, usually, one of the big people has to fetch a bucket of seawater to create a pool- so the creatures have water too.
He wandered away from his creature house for a short time, and was delighted to find it attracted some actual creatures! Gulls and a huge crow came to check out the new structure; a proud moment for our intrepid constructor and conservationist.
Big Deal
Just because something isn’t a big deal to you, doesn’t mean it isn’t a big deal to someone else.
If someone tells you something is bothering them, listen. It’s completely okay to not understand. It’s not okay to belittle their emotions.
If someone snaps, ask if they are attacking you personally. If they are, that’s not okay. But if they’re just expressing exasperation or anger at a particular situation, try to listen.
If someone suffers from anxiety, then irritation or anger can be a sign of an impending attack, or of moderate to severe generalised anxiety. Anxiety doesn’t just present as nervousness or panic, especially in people that have to mask those feelings on a day to day basis.
Above all, make sure you’re not holding people to higher standards than you expect yourself to be held to. We’ve all experienced times when something mattered to us that seemed trivial to others. Remember that feeling, and use it to empathise when you face someone in a similar situation.
A big deal is always a big deal to the person experiencing it, whether you understand it or not. Be kind.
Lugh’s Lesson
I walk up to the gates
And I tell them
How much I have to offer
How much I have to give
But they don’t want to know
They’ve seen it all before
You don’t write better
Sing better
Fight better
Than any we’ve seen before
Ok, I say, the way
Through your closed-mindedness
Is clear
No fear, I’ll show
Instead of tell
I’ll write the words
That make you
Laugh, cry and sleep
I’ll sing the song
That brings the past
To life
I’ll fight the warriors you send
I’ll toss the blocks
I’ll break and bend
And mend
These bridges fast.
Lugh showed us well
Do, don’t tell.
Elusive Happiness
I felt happy several times this weekend.
Playing with my little girl. Hearing her laugh. Watching her grow.
Seeing friends. Chatting. Sharing. Unwinding.
Watching Buffy. Chilling. Escaping.
Yet as I fell asleep, or tried to, on Sunday night, all I could think about was things which had made me feel deeply unhappy.
This is one aspect of depression and anxiety that I find really hard to deal with. I know there are so many good things, wonderful things in my life. But sometimes, I just can’t bring to mind anything but sick, anxious feelings that drag me down.
Whys and wherefores mix with recrimination and regret, whilst arguments that weren’t quite settled sit like bile. Nothing major. Nothing life changing. But the anxiety magnifies everything and the depression makes even the mildest muddled communication seem like the end of the world.
It’s a hard thing to explain to someone who has never experienced this. People tell you to focus on the good things, the positive things. “Think positively!” “Find the silver lining!” I can see the silver lining. I can.
But all I can focus on is the cloud.
Imbolc Treasure
Imbolc is the Celtic festival of winter’s end, the start of spring, and is celebrated on the first or second of February. Spring isn’t here yet, but we’ve made it to halfway between winter solstice and the equinox. Lambs are on their way, and yes, in Yorkshire, we get to see a lot of lambs over the next few weeks and months!
The first stirrings of spring seem a little muted, hidden beneath a drifting veil of winters breath. Amidst the traffic chaos and slippery anxiety, I have found some delightful treasures. Please, stay warm and safe, help each other out, and if you can, pause to appreciate these cold moments of beauty.
Baby Steps
There aren’t many more exciting things than baby’s firsts. First words or signs because you realise they have new ways of communicating with you. First teeth, as it opens up new culinary possibilities, and means teething and the pain that goes with it is closer to ending.
This week we had first steps, something I thought I would miss as she is at nursery three days a week now. She’s been standing for a while, but hadn’t dared move from this stance without holding on to either us or the furniture. All of a sudden she gave me a cheeky look and staggered across the living room floor to me. She looked as proud as I felt.
It’s amazing that those first few tentative steps echo the wobbly stance of a new born calf or fawn, but over a year after birth, rather than mere minutes. We humans drag out the growing up process, and I’m incredibly grateful for that. We get to enjoy each stage… one careful step at a time.
She Gave me a Witchstone
See the hole right through the middle? That’s what makes this a witchstone, or hagstone. Traditionally associated with magic, they are used as protection from various evils, including to protect sailors from drowning.
The hole is formed by the ocean and the particles therein abrading the stone until the weakest points give way, presenting the holes that our ancestors and now us perceive as magical. For me, it’s a symbol of the power of nature; its relentless inevitability. A reminder to respect the forces around us.
Look through the hole of a hagstone and you may notice the view of the world is a little different than you expected. The hole can be a portal to another world; a world where a different decision was made, or where a path was never walked. A glimpse of what might have been, or what may still be depending on the next steps you take.
I found this one as I walked along Hornsea beach thinking about the goddesses of the ocean. I had already found a beautiful stone, flecked with tiny plant fossils. I was expressing my gratitude, when I spied this piece of flint that the ocean had drilled right through. I’ve always loved flint; practical, beautiful… and oozing history. I picked it up, thanked the ocean and carried on my way, feeling especially lucky. Perhaps the effect of the witchstone starting already…
Mabh Savage 