w o m a n

You've felt it but can't tell a soul

Not a peep, not a gesture, no,

you're fear is to fade into an

empty black hole.

Purified for patriarchal progression,

your voice is muted or used for complementary confession.

Daughter of secretive sexuality,

Sister of delicate dialogue,

looked down upon by the hungry eyes of a

dog.

You weep for safety in your own skin and pray that boldness isn't seen as a sin.

Sleazy to well intentioned,

the masculine will always want honorable mention.

How brave of them to realize after millions of years,

that we're not only made of recipes and tears.

You are more.

More than I can describe and beyond your imagination.

You are electric.

Energized by beauty of the Creator and a force with every step.

You are everything.

For the Spirit moves in you and the simple minds of this world could never prepare.

You are woman.

Free to shine, to love, to live, to lead.

For in your life, shame no longer has deed.

s e a r c h

Why are you scared?

With so little

But I’m tired

Yes, but I am not

I get it, but

No. I am not

I’m hopeless

No. I am not

Please, give me something

No.

Why not?

I need you. Place your hand in mine. Awake. Forget doubts. Remember me.

p a y m e n t

Lost in the clutter of man-

One side I’m on the tail end

Burdened with these falsities.

The other I am the head,

But am I doing fine?

No matter the spin, perfection is dull.

Half chance of guaranteed grinding and

scratching- a guttural clamor of debt

and disappointment.

In the air, the wish in the mist is promised.

No fountain, no romance, but

a hearty tomorrow and rays of forever.

Valued upon belief in the shine

Not my attrition.

The luster is under the grime

it needs toil and cleansing.

Then, finally, you will see the reflection of

true perfection.

g o n e

to cling

i’m slipping

to reach

i’m tired

i’m losing touch

my hope is in my failure

the ray is my fog

to exist

easy

to live

impossible

yearning not for death nor for life

lost in this muddled fate

i’m slipping

i’m tired

i look to where?

i’m a lost cause

i’m slipping

i’m tired

A hand

A hope

A light

A fight

To find again what I can’t remember

To feel what I’ve never felt

Unfamiliar yet welcome

I am above

I have arrived

The journey is lost, but My moment is sweet

Down I will not look

Up I will be steadfast

I will slip

I will sleep

But I will live

p r a y e r I I

Disturbed desperation of an evening’s sonnet.

A need but no desire- silently swaying in the

biting cold with not a step forward.

Won’t you drag me out of this pit of temptation?

A solemn tune flat on divine accord.

Chaotic misinterpretations between

yes and no,

why not and I shouldn’t,

pleasure and peace.

I speak but do you not listen?

Hollow air filled with unfulfilled attention.

I’m walking about a maze with no end in sight-

my motivations have transcended

and reasonings in flight.

Nonsensical and smiling and unsure and abiding-

you will prevail

and I will untangle.

t h e c a g e

I'm locked in a cage and I threw away the key.

Rusted bars and rotten screws and you wouldn't believe that I can walk right through

It's open wide and I won't leave.

The key was melodramatic proof that I put myself here.

I can't blame others, that's sin.

I can't blame myself

That's

Sin.

I haven't found freedom to spread my wings because they've been broken and I refused to heal.

I wanted to, but I didn't.

I wanted to sing and was shut up, but my embarrassment was the loudest.

They hated my feathers, but my shame became my crown. I had to live with those imperfect feathers and so do they, but I still pluck at them today.

I'm wounded and I look at you and can't accept your scars.

I am not humbled by pain, because I haven't healed.

I thought I have.

Will I sit in this cage forever?

I don't want to.

I can walk right out, but freedom proves my hurt to be true.

s u g a r l e s s

I fear the apathy of tomorrow

I’m sold on the idea that I don’t matter

Do I?

I yearn for the answer but I get not a whisper

You tell me I’m safe to collapse

But he shows me the thorns and I get tired of wondering,

Wandering

Can I just stay and breathe

Not eager to inhale the truth

Not ready to shift my weight toward above

Not content with the plan of the blind

What do I do?

No closure, no resolve, no check mark

next to my name of my ascension

I aspire but I can’t desire

Held down by the human burden

and the mind’s regress

I trace the question and lay solitude in the

reality of progress

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