Laughs, Giraffes & Epitaphs

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Peg, Picture, Piece - The Square Pegs
:- Some Answer & That Hammer; Unfit!

 Big Dig
music by Ed Hooke, November 1991   -   © Ed Hooke 1991

G I R A F F E

It's intriguing that, for many of us,
the things we're most scared of
are actually aspects of ourselves
which we try to deny or run away from.
I think that one expression of this fear
is the stigma we attach to
things like psychotherapy
eg the alarmed defensive cry
of  "I don't need therapy!",
which can act as a major obstacle
to finding out that
maybe we don't need
to be so scared after all.

This song was written
about my early experiences
in my first psychotherapy group.

Stranger feels unwelcome.
Is it the place?
No familiar face
- but old acquaintances are here.
Loneliness and fear are not without.

Let's explore but let's not look outside.
Your safe hiding place is where the menace lurks.
Things aren't always where you see them.

So you find, in your mind 
weeds, weeds, of seeds sown long ago
- rather big.
You'd better dig.
You've started now.  Dare you stop? 

Hinges creak.
Pandora opens her box.
Here's your can of worms - and one used tin-opener.
Panic wells inside so helpfully!

There's no spade.  There's just a listening ear.
- room to think out loud
- room to manoeuvre.
- room that you've denied yourself before.

Look around.  Views abound.
This fence looks different from the other side.
Tails have heads.  Follow threads.
Map some chambers of this labyrinth.

Feels like out of the icebox, into the fire.
But do banquets come from ovens or from closed fridges?
We can have adventures in the kitchen.

And instead, in your flower bed
you can mix and match.
It's a wild garden!
One life each.
Try to reach one at one with yourself.

Answers flood around but what do they mean?
Are the questions wrong?
What is it we're asking?
Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
Is there light at the end of the tunnel?