Seeking and Hiding: Finding my fire in the dark

In this debut collection, Rivka Rose journeys through the hinterland of menopause. Without a map, compass or clear sense of any destination the call to slow down brings shifting perspectives, imprecise insights and glimpses of awakening. Amidst rage, grief and despair there are moments of hope, peace and connection. Attempting to navigate a broken world these poems offer a personal reflection of challenging and changing times. This collection was written from the rocky shore of my menopause transition. As I traversed the waves, I realised that in addition to the reorganisation of my physical body there was also a rearrangement of something larger. An unearthing of parts of myself long neglected, waiting to be rediscovered and made new as I enter this next phase of life. These pieces reflect what had been hiding in the shadows and the new desires arising which sought a different way of being. All except one, which was written at the other end of my menstruating years and came to light as I read back through my diaries and reflected on the multiple versions of me that have inhabited the skin in which I walk through this world.