Birthing the future: thoughts from Ballarat forum

And take a breath, Put my leadership hat on

And switch my brain to learning mode

Switching it up, Change in the air

This place, This time and place is buzzing

Activate it, I can be an actor in it

I have power, Hear me roar

I am woman, I can soar

Upon the shoulders of giants

I can lift my eyeline and see

A future beyond the horizon

Most people cannot see beyond their front step

But I see, Somewhere to hang my hat

Some space occupy, And thrive

Some vessel to carry my worth

Some legacy to leave this earth

A better place for my children

I will leave them behind a rainbow fence

To chase the pot of gold

To fund their future

And when I'm old

They'll know all the work I did

All that talking

All those meetings, workshops, courses

Were an investment in humanity

Working for a future most can't see

But a room full of people like me

Who look up

Looking up to others and

Hooking up

Ideas, connecting

Spawning, Birthing a future

Like mothers

This labour is not easy

It might look glamourous and glowing

But it's raw and bloody

And not everyone can stand to stay in the room

While a woman leads

This process of future building

But the future is mine.

Megan Riedl, of Tripwire Theatre Incorporated, wrote this poem as part of a recent Leaders Forum program.