One Wonderful Poem by Lynda Tavakoli

You're beautiful

 

say it to the person who saved you

by saying it

and didn’t even know

 

say it at the moon to borrow its beauty

for yourself

just by noticing

 

say it because that’s what the world

might become if

we said it more often

 

say it to yourself

when it’s not

who you are facing in the mirror

 

say it even if the one

you say it to

wounds with their indifference

 

say it out loud

like a poem learned at school -

it will live in you afterwards

 

say it in a lonely room

for walls have ears

and sound travels fastest through solids

 

say it for nothing

because something offered freely

is blessed with more than what we cannot see

 

say it so that nobody

can hear - then let it go

and see how far a fragile thought can fly

 

say it to the one who saved you

by saying it

and didn’t even know

 

you’re beautiful

 

First published in Lynda's debut poetry collection, ‘The Boiling Point for Jam’ published by Arlen House and then in https://wordslightlyspoken.libsyn.com/wls-110-lynda-tavakoli-reads-youre-beautiful

 

Lynda Tavakoli lives in County Down, Northern Ireland, where she facilitates an adult creative writing class and is a tutor for the Seamus Heaney Award for schools.  A poet, novelist and freelance journalist, Lynda’s writings have been published in the UK, Ireland, the US and the Middle East, with Farsi and Spanish translations.

Lynda has been winner of both poetry and short story prizes in Listowel, The Westival International Poetry Prize and runner-up in The Blackwater International Poetry Competition and Roscommon Poetry Competition. Her poems have also appeared in The Irish Times, New Irish Writing.

She was recently a guest poet on RTE1 The Poetry Programme and her poem, ‘You’re Beautiful’, was featured in the ‘Words Lightly Spoken’ podcast.

Her debut poetry collection, ‘The Boiling Point for Jam’ is published by Arlen House.