I thought I needed to grow strong enough
To paint my throat across the sky in colors I'd never wear,
So I screamed until my lungs flew off their hinges and hit the angry man beside me.
He looks nothing like you,
All gnarled to the bone with resentment.
I thought I needed to hate him too.
So I spat my anger and fear into the cavern of my mind
Not knowing it would be shot right back at me.
I've been given a feather to hold down my tongue
And locked it away ever since.
But I see now that quietness does not wipe my tears,
Nor does it warp my face.
I thought I needed to grow strong enough
To crack a mirror with the radiance
Of the jewels that should adorn my hair,
Until I felt the gentle caress of my own kindness,
Until I was loved even as my fire was extinguished.
I'm more page than person
Though not nearly as brave.
And my voice is merely the whistling in the wind.
I'm both afraid of water and reborn in it,
And I think that's what it means to live,
To be torn up and left in tatters for the world to behold
And meet its stare anyway.
YOU ARE READING
As Tears Filled Up my Eyes
PoetryA collection of original poetry strung together. Each chapter is a single poem that can stand alone and does not need to be read in any particular order to be understood.
