The Girl Who Won't Shut the Fuck Up

I don't like talking about myself.

It doesn't really benefit my health.

I'd rather talk about my kids and J,

But Sasha asked, so what can I say?

I don't conform to beauty standards,

'Cos that shit is designed by bastards.

I'm me, and I'm learning to love me.

If you do or don't, it don't bother me.

I'm a riot girl, firecracker in a short bod.

I write, sing, create, mom, wife like a god.

With the S, in all kinds of crazy kinds of dress,

I shoot for best and don't settle for anything less.

I'm the fiercest defender of my friends,

And I'm trying to follow those trends

When it comes to advocating for myself.

My beautiful little family are my real wealth.

Do you like my creepy little dolls?

Want them creeping up your halls?

You've heard about triple threats,

But I don't fit into easy neat sets.

If you like your poetry with a bite

And find tight rhymes a delight,

If you like honesty served raw

And songs of horrors I saw,

Come sit and witness something

Bigger than just random writing.

I've taken down my boundaries

And called time on all my enemies.

For all the shit they put me through,

An unflattering accounting, their due.

I am the girl that won't shut the fuck up.

I am the girl whose time is now. Back up!

Step to me with kindness and warmth,

With acceptance, and sit by my hearth,

And you'll have no better friend, believe,

Because in my circle, you will never leave.

Just make sure you give me all the Monsters 

give me all the Monsters give me all the Monsters

Just give me all the fucking Monsters 

Honestly, Sara Wilson is one of my best friends on Vocal. I can't remember the exact time when we became proper friends, but when I ran my long-running and successful series Vocal Deep Cuts and made efforts to include everyone, I featured one of Sara's fun little poems for one of her dolls. I was honoured to have the chance to help get her more reads, as I was with all those I featured. I mean, it helps that she is kind and has a wicked sense of humour. But I had recently lost my Nonna, and at the time hers was poorly, so we had Italian cultural experiences with matriarchal relatives.

Fast forward a couple of years of both of us honing our skills, and all that work and effort has been kind to us. I always thought she was a good writer and thought she was maybe hiding a little. So I was incredibly proud and blown away after things went quiet in the Wilson camp and she came back with a bang. On a journey of self-discovery, development and growth. Writing, yes, doing art, but also turning poetry into songs, songs into multimedia projects with actual budgets and production values.

Whether you look at it as a work ethic thing or as a therapeutic thing, it's admirable.

She's been shooting her honest truths and finding liberation from all the shit that's held her back.

As a parent, from our discussions, I know she's got a strong, firm but loving head on her shoulders, and she's determined to ensure her kids have a polar opposite experience to her own.

She didn't want to do anything for Sasha's challenge because she finds it hard to write about herself. So I basically offered to ghostwrite it for her. My original plan was to write it, then send it to her so she could pass it off as her own, hehe. The poem above is what I concocted.

But, alas, contrary to a lot of childish rumours and whispers, she's not a cheat (I am not sure how she could be) and is not part of a clique, and said, "I'm not fucking cheating, Paul, you bald-headed fucktard!" I mean, I am paraphrasing, but it's close enough to what she really said.

So here I am posting it, as a sorta joint unofficial side quest for Sasha's challenge, but not quite. She has done one for me, which is testimony to her love for any chance to be creative and build up the community.

I know I am by no means the only one shooting her praises and supporting her, or who has been touched by her generosity when it comes to reads and feedback.

I know this is just a daft and probably really unimportant corner of the internet to anyone outside its bubble, but a Vocal without Sara Wilson would be a much colder place.

We have a riot in the comments so often, and when we're not taking the piss outta one another, we're talking craft and ideas, sharing experiences of our partners and children, and she is often one (there are a few, so don't feel I'm highlighting her and not you—and fuck off, that rhymed) of the first to check in with me if I write something particularly raw.

So, I figured it was fine Sara had a bit of a boost.

Three cheers for the talented girl who will never shut the fuck up again!