Hello, I’m Sarah -
The writer and artist behind
Matrescent Muse.
I am a mother to a baby girl born in May, 2021. I grew up in Newcastle, NSW and I’m currently living in Canberra with my husband, our baby, and our cat.
My journey into motherhood left me flooded with a complex set of emotions that I deeply wanted to express and discuss. Yet I was navigating this new role in the time of pandemic, and as such, I didn’t always feel I had the opportunity. We were living in Brisbane at the time, and the border closures meant that our family and friends in New South Wales felt very far away.
It was on a slow afternoon pram walk - an attempt to get my baby to sleep - that I began to mentally form a poem about my experience of matrescence, the transition to becoming a mother.
Those few short lines became my first post-partum poem, “Two Hearts”. As the words came together, the relief was enormous and I was soon a teary mess - yes, whilst still out on my walk!
Transforming my feelings into poetry was more cathartic than I had expected.
Sharing my work has connected me with a wonderful group of mothers, with whom I have been able to explore the emotions, challenges and triumphs of motherhood. To be part of this community has been both humbling and rewarding. The candid stories and confidences that fellow mothers have shared with me have left me feeling privileged and moved.
I hope my poems might help me to share the value I have for writing - and its power to give voice to the complexities of motherhood.
Sarah
Images by Twin Flames Photography, Newcastle