Through a Glass Darkly: Volume IV Issue 1 "Out of the Darkness"

new voices

Elizabeth Fair

I keep encountering new voices, Voices which threaten to define Me.

I’m tempted to listen, to heed these names, Live up to expectations, and base myself on Them.

They’re not all bad, Some are quite nice. I accept them and move on.

But later, after I’ve Tested them, tried them on, Worn a few holes and realised They do not fit I wonder: Is it I who is at fault?

These names which try to define me: Are they right, am I wrong?

A thousand tiny cracks, my imperfections, now Surface on the clay jar: Me

Maybe they were there all along.

Is it my fault that I’m not strong? Broken, hurting, and in pain.

The relentless competition of voices Tears me apart, pulls me down And whilst I balance their precious crown On my head, I’ve become blind to Who I am.

Their string of definitions doesn’t seem to fit.

They tried to name me, mould me and shape me

They tried to make me a standard, a model, a performer. They tried to tell me my worth was in what I said, thought and did.

But as the crown tumbled and spun from my head

And the cracks in the jar revealed where I had bled

I realised:

I am something far greater: A Child of the King. My worth comes from God.

The crown I once wore, so heavy and tiresome, fell.

The blood mixed with his, and I was made whole. The cracks opened up and his light shone through.

Elizabeth has just finished her undergraduate degree in music at Magdalen College , and is now studying for a Masters in Music and Wellbeing at the University of Leeds. Outside of her studies, she enjoyes exploring the countryside, and playing ultimate frisbee.