Busybird Publishing Open Mic Night 105 What Inspires Me
By Sue Ellson
On Wednesday 16 October 2024, I attended the Busybird Publishing Open Mic Night #105 (my third appearance) and shared some thoughts on what inspires me, read out my poem ‘Injustice‘ and mentioned my upcoming ‘Poems and Poetry Podcast‘.
Transcript
Tonight’s raffle price is uh donated by Sue Ellson. Where are you? I just saw you a moment ago.
Yep I’m going to actually call you off next and you can even talk about this. All right. Everyone please welcome Sue. [Applause]
Thank you Les and thank you Kev. I wanted to donate the book because I was um recognized as sixth in the world as an expert on LinkedIn in an AI chat survey this week. So I thought that was um something pretty exciting. [Applause]
Okay. So what I’d like to talk tonight about is ‘What Inspires Me.’
And when I started my book writing journey eight years ago my dedication in the front of the book read “For my children Carmen and Peter whom I love more than words can say.”
By the time I got to my fourth book, I added “and current and future gigsters.”
And by the time I got to my fifth book I wrote “For my children and the people who believed in me.”
When we start writing we often think it’s about the legacy of our children and the best day of my life was at my fourth book launch when my daughter interviewed me on stage and my son was the MC and everybody went “OHHHH” when I announced that they were my children.
Eight years later, on my writing journey it’s about the people who I know or see what I’ve read and also the unseen.
And recently, I went to a networking event and I met this woman who had a really incredible story to tell and we related on many levels with this story and I decided to write a poem about her, and I’m, or for her I should say, and she’s watching online so because she couldn’t be here because she’s unwell.
But this is a reflection that many of you will understand after being in difficult workplaces.
It’s called “Injustice.”
Injustice Poem
Without fault
My presence I brought
Without intent
A battle I fought
False allegations
Were laid against me
For being myself
I was judged critically
Favourites breezed through
Authenticity was denied
Hidden daggers were thrown
I was set up to fail and decried
Facts were obscured
My representation a joke
No chance for fairness
Beneath an invisible cloak
Some are protected
Without merit
Whilst some are targeted
And just have to wear it
Why the injustice
Why the shame
Why feel guilty
When I am not to blame
Why the pain
Of power and ego
Why the torment
And the challenges I went through
How to heal
My raging anger
How to stop
Feeling a failure
How to reflect
And process my narrative
How to protect
The wider collective
Slowly, gently
With humble grace
A listening ear
My only solace
But in the end
On my path to maturity
A simple edict
To channel my fury
To prove I can
I will, I choose
I will not be crushed
I will not lose
The human spirit
Cannot be vanquished
Built for survival
It will never be defeated
Somehow wiser
Somehow smarter
Somehow wishing
To help another
Whether I can
Or whether I can’t
To truly be human
I’ll be triumphant
I will pass this test
And many more
My dignity intact
By not keeping score
They may win the battle
But they will not win the war
For I am victorious
And will continue to soar
And the story with this particular person is she did leave the organisation and she has set up her own business and it’s been an amazing success. Um so congratulations to her and thank you for inspiring me to write that.
The last thing I’d like to say is I’m planning to launch a Poems and Poetry Podcast and if anybody would like to be considered to be interviewed about their poems or poetry I’d love to hear from you. Thank you [Applause]
Thank you Sue so with your Poetry Podcast how do people contact you outside of here?
Look it up my name, I am all over the internet.
Okay cool. What I might actually do if you want to email me and we’ll put some copy in the newsletter for November, um if if you’re okay with that?
Thanks.
Cool.
Special thanks to Kev Howlett for the use of this Live Video Footage from Facebook and Les Zig for being the Facilitator of the Open Mic Night.
See my previous Open Mic Night #102 here and #103 here.
Shared on Busybird Publishing Facebook Live at 00:15:29 Archive.org, Presentations Page, Publications Page, Re-Published Poems Page, Videos Page, Facebook Page, Google, LinkedIn Profile, LinkedIn Page, Twitter / X YouTube
See my other poems here or subscribe to the monthly email newsletter to receive links to the latest publications.