As If I Were Invisible - Sunday Features 31/072011

The features this week follow the theme of ‘invisibilty’, a topic that we are currently discussing in The Café. There are times in our lives when we feel invisible, unseen and unheard. Times when we do not know who we are or where we belong. Times when we give out all of ourselves, reaching out to meet the needs of those around us, but feel that our own needs are not being met. At these times we feel invisible.

We feel invisible when we sense a loss of self…

Can You See Me Now by © JeniferDeBellis
Today I will tolerate more ____________.
It’s the expected norm, just another thing
I’ll do in the name of keeping harmony
in the atmosphere. If only I could ^reduce
myself a little more; or cut out another
something that is important only to me;
or try harder to understand (with patience)
that those double standards are not intended
to hurt me or ^reduce what is important to me…
Today I will go along with what everyone
else wants to do simply because through
the hazy fog of complete exhaustion
and confusion, I can’t remember what it was
that I wanted. Or maybe it’s simply because
I don’t have a moment in between the pressure
of demands and expectations placed on me
to actually think about what it is that I want.
Today I will ignore you ignoring me
while I tell you how this makes me feel.
I’ll pretend that my opinion or contribution
isn’t that important in the larger picture.
I’ll be sure to overlook what your demands
do to me – those demands that include me
having to validate how you feel while tolerating
such rude, inconsiderate behavior from me for even
thinking you would accept being treated as such.
And I’ll do all of this in a silence so maddening,
it’s shocking no one around me can hear
the internal chaos as it bubbles and churns fragile,
volatile debris. Today I will become invisible.

When we feel neglected and taken for grated we feel bruised

Bruise by © Glitterfest

I am bruised. By your neglect. By all those small slights. By being taken for granted. By your complete refusal to acknowledge the abuse.
And it’s only beginning to surface. Glitterfest


When we grow old….

Painted Away by © Sybille Sterk
I see
              this face
              in the mirror
              the wrinkles
              around the eyes
I remember
              the smile
              curving my lips
              the twinkle
              in my eye
I see
              double
              twins years apart
              one who was
              one who is
              a little powder
              eye liner
              lipstick and
              blusher_
              dye away the grey
              hide the wrinkles
              moisturise
              glamorise
I see
              two faces
              merging
              into
              invisibility
I remember
              who I am
              is not who I see
              is not the face
              in the mirror
I know
              I am here
              looking in
              You are there
              looking out.

Invisible by © Sybille Sterk


When we are not heard…

Invisible by © Cynthia Lund Torroll
She peeks through the reeds -
camouflaged,
coded for a moment
of pure disclosure.
Yet despite her full promenade
and her siren call to alert,
she remains unseen,
unheard,
invisible…
The manual says on every fortnight
she slips in deep slumber and
dreams presence.
She has voice – she has form,
it is there, on the other side,
to a seasoned observer,
that a side of her
appears…

Invisible by © Cynthia Lund Torroll


When we feel insignificant…

insignificant by © Sally Omar
walking solemnly
shoulders slightly drooped
her corn colored hair
hung loosely around her face
her torn jeans
her wrinkled shirt
the emptiness she carried
within her very being
never raised her eyes
when she spoke
never felt equal to anyone
her mother’s constant insults
her father’s constant slaps
the ache in her heart
was way too much to bear
she walked among people
but walked all alone
unnoticed, unloved, fearful
never realizing that she possessed
beauty, talent and intelligence
she walked among the living
but her soul had died
after all, they called her
“insignificant”

When we cannot have children or our children leave home…

Empty Nest by © Tamarra Ba Vincio


When we feel trapped…

Untitled by © MaryMac
cracks
appearing on river rocks
graceful
like blood flowing
through veins
do you see me
as you poke your head-up
peering from behind
window panes
can you see the real me
traveled the holy lands
looking for answers
lay my body
in the dead sea
floated on top of the surface
can you now visualize me
i’m i’am
not of shallow water
one cannot view
my rocks and pebbles
can you visualize
the real me
stranger
preacher
doctor
lover
friend
can you see me
i’m a winner
no chance to lose
leaves
start falling
The Holies
are calling
i blend
into the
crowd
people dying
from the cold
left alone
because they’re old
love comes from grace
The Holies
unseen
from distant
face
kneel
bend your head over
you’re in the presence
of the Lord
bite back on your anger
making a conscious choice
all my pain and woe
can i ever show
The Holies
oh yes darlin’
they know
purchased a fender
without a case
forward scrumming
birthday punching
thank you
Lord Jesus
his spirit at rest
a man claims he’s tryin’
really are you cryin’
i’am realizing
something
am i seen
people looking straight through
perhaps an invisable hue
love reign over me
love reign over me
love sweet love
reign over me
come on baby
i need to rest my eyes
my body’s weak
it’s becoming to much for me to tweak
does anybody see me
i’m wet
not cold
thank God
i ain’t old
can you see the real me
cos it runs
in my family
do you see me
i’m one
i’am one
can you see
this is me
i’am like
the cheshire cat
not the rabbit
06/12/2011
marymac

When we do not know who we are…

Looking for Me by © gnarlyart


When we face indifference

Facing Invisible by © Rhenastarr
To all my sisters, who have had to face the Invisible. The invisibility of your own thoughts and dreams, the days of being taken for granted, of blending into the background. The days of having your inner light smothered by indifference and lackluster emotional input. Always strive to let your light shine, standing tall, standing proud and being that shield that will never let “The Invisible” consume your being. Rhenastarr

I wonder when I became invisible
I wonder when your eyes stopped
Seeing me
I wonder when your heart locked
Me out
Casting me in the shadows of
What was
Your inattentiveness has grown
Like a vine of corruption
Covering your heart, restricting
And smothering it’s love
Where there was light and laugher
Darkness has now permeated your soul
Damaging mine in the process
You have become the thorn that
Inflicts pain against my weakened
Vessel
I bleed from the sharpness of their cut
Bleeding my strength of purpose
To pool at my feet
How did I become lost in the darkness
Of your mind
The me that is housed there is the
Young girl you fell in love with
I’m still here, older but no wiser
I have wasted my tears on a man
Who can no longer see or feel them
I speak but my words can not
Penetrate the wall you have erected
I have become just a faded part of
The domestic landscape
That feeds your hunger
Satiates your desires
Leaving my valley dry and barren
And me like a husk blown about in a
Parched cornfield trapped under
The torturous blaze of a summer sun
Withered by your inability to release
Your heart from it’s tomb of complacency
I am drowning in your sea of thoughtlessness
Shrinking in the cold rain of your apathy
My soul numbed
I breathe and the ache that fills me is
A knife slicing through the heart of me
I wonder when I became invisible to me
I need to face the mirror of my own rejection
Open the door to a life that doesn’t contain
You
You left me sometime ago and now I must
Find the me that remains inside of the me
That casts a reflection of strength and
Determination to renew and survive and
be the me that will never again be invisible
Marie Harris © June 22, 2010

But we can become visible again….

Defy the Boundaries by © shadowlea
Believe you can
It will
Set you
Free shadowlea


“Always strive to let your light shine, standing tall, standing proud and being that shield that will never let “The Invisible” consume your being.” Rhenastarr