I Gave Myself the World

Catarine Hancock

Contents ( 4)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Published by Central Avenue Publishing, an imprint of Central Avenue Marketing Ltd.

www.centralavenuepublishing.com

I GAVE MYSELF THE WORLD

Trade Paperback: 978-1-77168-282-4

Epub: 978-1-77168-283-1

Published in Canada

Printed in United States of America

1. POETRY / Women Authors 2. POETRY / Love

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

for the teenage girls that were, are, and will be.

this world is yours for the taking.

trigger warning:

this book deals with topics of mental health, body image, emotional abuse, and sex.

please take care.

author’s note

i gave myself the world uses the major arcana from tarot as a narrative tool. you don’t need to be familiar with the meaning of the cards to understand, relate to, or enjoy this collection. i chose the major arcana as my inspiration for this book because much like life, the path it follows is not linear. it is not simply point a to point b. rather, it is filled with ups and downs, moments of progress followed by moments of regression, healing from one thing and then being hurt by something else. it reflects the reality of how we go through life. it will never be a smooth uphill climb. there will be days spent tumbling down, days spent sitting at rock bottom. but you will always be, in some way, moving forward. if there is one thing you should know about tarot going into this book, let it be that: you must move forward, always.

you are standing in front of your mirror, studying yourself. the weight of desire drapes heavily across your shoulders. the desire for what, exactly, you are not yet sure of.

a voice from inside you, but not quite your own, asks, “what is it that you want?”

you dwell on the question, eyes flitting over your reflection. you look tired.

that voice repeats itself, louder this time: “what do you want?”

it dawns on you, ever so slowly, what your answer is. you want to be happy. you want to feel beautiful, like you belong in your own skin. you want to be free, unrestrained in your existence. you do not want a life rid of hardship; rather, you want the ability to handle it in a way that is less debilitating, that leaves room for growth. you want it all. you want everything.