Acceptance...

"Did you know that your daughter tells everyone you're a witch?"

"So?"

"So, aren't you annoyed?"

"Why, she's telling the truth?"

"Yeh, right. Course you are."

"Yep!

Has anyone else had a similar conversation at the school gate recently? Was it a conversation stopper or did they want to know more?

Personally, I haven't had any negative responses, but then, with my black sense of humour, I think they end up convinced that they've been wound up, and are still none the wiser when they leave. My favourite response to the ever present phrase "You don't look like a witch." is,

"Hmmm, don't tell me, you expected a black pointy hat, cloak, broomstick and hairy warts...Sorry, I'm not that type of witch. Although, come to think of it, I do have a hat and a cloak, but only for fancy dress parties, I also have a broom, but I tend to use the vacuum cleaner these days, and as for the warts, well as you can see...."

Acceptance...it seems such a simple concept, yet it slips through humanity's fingers like grains of sand. Why?

Acceptance

Denounce me not for lack of faith,

should I fail to follow yours.

For I have faith in all around

to steer a steady course.

Condemn me not for differences

of opinion, colour, creed;

Nor slate me for my choices

in the things that I believe.

Convict me not for following

ways you consider to be sham,

nor criticise my honesty,

when revealing who I am.

Accuse me not of floundering

amidst a faithless sea,

or sheltering ‘neath Satan’s cloth,

should I cite the Wiccan Rede.

Deny me not my destiny,

within this grand design,

for I am of Humanity,

 my beliefs are not a crime.

I believe in all creation,

love of soul, and purity of heart:

In Mother Nature’s blessings

and the bounty she imparts.

My choices are made freely,

just as yours are plain to see.

Though I accept you as you are…

can you say the same of me?

© L J Clayton

(Image and Poem used with permission)