Imelda May has just released 'Becoming', another taster from her Slip Of The Tongue poetry EP, which is out on June 12.

"'Becoming' is not about me and also it totally is," she tells us. "It’s about women from a woman’s perspective. It’s about how I regularly feel, cope, struggle, sink and rise. I am proud to be a woman with all my complexities but often have conflicting views of who we really are and who we have learned we should be. Society and history have both helped and hindered us. I continue to grow and learn about myself and I’m forever trying, hopefully becoming a better me. I struggled to find the right title for this poem until I had a wonderful afternoon in the company of Michelle Obama. I had a lightbulb moment. I realised the title of her inspiring book Becoming, which I had recently read, was perfect. I read her my poem, she gave me her blessing."
As for the parent EP, she continues: "Slip Of The Tongue is a small collection of my poems I’ve written and recorded. I constantly write. Writing pads are filled, backs of envelopes, scraps of paper are scribbled on and scattered around me in between books, trinkets and photos. Melodies swirl in my head. Footsteps become the rhythm to a song. But often words don’t feel like they need anything more than to be spoken aloud or read alone. They just feel good as they are. But I still hear music. It evokes such strong emotion. So I decided to combine my two loves. I think they dance beautifully. I hope you agree.
Here's the very beautiful 'Becoming' in full:

I am woman

I am me

mother, daughter, sister, free thinker

activist, writer, boss, singer, sinner

lover, carer, endless beginner,

introvert, extrovert, every-kind-of-vert

assertive, confident, confidant

non conformist, nonchalantly

flaunting, flirting & funny as hell

storyteller, secret keeper

dreamer, reader, non credence believer

bleeder, bleedin deadly

survivor, thriver

chancer, skiver

I’m a ducker, I’m a diver

I’m hungry for knowledge

but I’m full of it

full of pain, full of joy

one size doesn’t fit

like a glove that I’m not

but I am what I am and I’m good with that

I’m ordinary, I’m extraordinary

I’m a queen, I’m a bee

I’m sweetness of honey

I’m salt of the sea

I am the seed

I am the earth

I Gaia, she

I matriach

I am I

I am we

I am woman

I am me