They say that life is a journey. This is my part of my journey. Four occasions where my sense of self is extracted and opened for opinion. Four occasions that have, over the years, altered the way I live and impacted upon my thoughts. These stories, along with the poetry, wander through my gender confusion, my sexual dysfunction and my own way of reacting, and acting, in the world that I walk. They are periods in my life which have had a great influence.

These stories twist around each other to make a complete whole. Some deeper than others in intensity, but important none the less. For it is only through the telling of these stories that I hope to mend myself. To find my niche, and to make sense of the confusion nestled within my mind.

The Shore was developed as a place in which I could meditate through such problems and to find answers. Created by my calling. It is a place that has become my comfort and my guide. It gave me a place of safety and offered a light for me to follow. However, The Shore can also be bad. It can take you upon meandering roads that develop into pure anarchy. It challenges how I see things. Causes me great hurt both mentally and psychically and, yet, it remains as a place I return to time after time for advice or to just escape from a world of carnage. Whether it is for good or bad purposes The Shore beckons me with great lust.

So, this is my world. Full of contradictions and dichotomises as I twist my way through life without any real consideration of how I impact myself upon those around me. A lifetime of memories compacted down to a few poems, four narratives and my own opinions of the world. Free the soul.

Melissa Maclellan