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In January 2021, Instagram followers were invited to message author David Tensen with a life story they wanted made into a poem. More than 60 people wrote in with stories spanning divorce, loss, trauma, parenting, ableism, same-sex attraction, suicide, PTSD, parenting, religious shame and more.
Drawing from deep empathy, and with a desire to give dignity and voice to those often shamed and ostracised, David wrote a collection of poems every day for twenty-one days. This special collection of 25 poems is a tribute to the common loss and hope we all share.
This is David’s second poetry collection. His best-selling debut 2020 collection, ‘The Wrestle’, is also available worldwide
The following is a poem from the collection. It features in the chapter, ‘On Marriage’
FOR THE ONE WHO WAS BETRAYED
(To the betrayer)
There is a tree by our home
that fell in a storm
on the path
I walked to belonging.
I assumed this was our path,
and perhaps it was,
but the storm -
that was your betrayal.
Torn from the earth.
Branches broken.
Leaves strewn like confetti
on our wedding day.
Roots, now exposed,
shamefully waving at passers-by,
remind me
of what was sown in secret.
Trunk, now splintered,
piercing those who dare to pry,
remind me
of your unrepentant reasoning.
I’ve been tempted,
more than once,
to nest in the wreckage
but you won’t find me there.
Instead, I’ll be in the forest
forging new paths
through forgiveness
and a fog of grief,
vowing to love myself
more than you ever did.
David Tensen
