And one day it shifted and changed,
My body once a known terrain, now felt strange.
The map I had trusted, no longer so clear,
As whispers of time brushed against my ear. 

Unknown and unexplored, these feelings took hold,
A tale of transition, a story untold.
Peri-menopause knocking with quiet insistence,
Inviting me gently to offer resistance. 

Like leaves in the autumn, my body let go,
Of rhythms I once knew, now gone with the flow.
Hot flashes like fire, moods up and then down,
Each wave like a crown that I’d wear without frown. 

The dance of my hormones, a waltz unpredictable,
Once certain, now swirling, a force undeniable.
I wept, then I laughed, then stood still in between,
As I wandered through phases no longer pristine. 

My mind, once so sharp, played tricks of its own,
Forgetting the details of places I’d known.
But in this unraveling, a gift was bestowed,
The wisdom of letting go, letting life flow. 

The sleepless nights felt like a thief in the dark,
Stealing my rest, yet igniting a spark.
In the quiet of dawn, I found new insight,
A deep inner knowing, a different kind of light. 

My body, though foreign, revealed its own grace,
In the lines and the curves, I began to find space.
The softness, the changes, the beauty in years,
Released from my grasping, released from my fears. 

I learned to adapt, to breathe and to trust,
That in these transformations, evolve we must.
For peri-menopause, though rocky and strange,
Was a gateway to power, a season of change. 

Through each ebb and flow, I grew more aware,
Of the cycles of life, the love in the air.
And though unfamiliar, this journey I faced,
I found strength in the mystery, and beauty embraced

By Siân Williams
@satnamtherapy