Reminded of a time when I felt so dark inside
Almost as if my identity was slowly being erased from this earth.
My reflection one big blur.
My identity non existent.

I no longer recognize the girl in the mirror.
Her pretty face with hollow eyes.

A small part of her afraid for her.
And the rest numb to the realization.
Man!
I almost lost her.
I want to apologize to her.
For almost refusing to harken to my truth.

For almost extinguishing her bright contagious flames.
For almost becoming the sad women, yet a beautiful fool.
  
I now vow to fight for her
To become the warrior princess she is destined to be.

I vow to always listen to her truth
I want to acknowledge her dreams and opinions.
I embrace her like never before.

Like war paint on my face,
I will wear a smile whenever I want
A tear whenever I want
A grin and even a blank slate whenever I want.

She is unapologetically me.

Never to be hidden again
Never an imposter of my truth - my true self

I will be me- me in it's purest form

And any disagreements or negative challenges or wills to change it will quickly be removed without hesitation.

For she will be seen.
She will be heard .
She will be loved and aware .
She will be.

She is here to stay
She is fearless, driven and believes in magical miracles daily.

She is me.
She is Shayleen.

I know you're hurting.
I know it's hard.
But you can do this.

I know it burns,
I know you want to give up.
But you can do this.

I know you hate this.
I know you feel a sadness in your soul.
But you can do this, have faith.

My darling,
Do not wait for someone to dance with
When there is music in your bones

Your cheekbones lay out a landscape in front of me;
mountains and hills i want to cross

Darling, let me caress you
for all I've been doing is gathering moss

I'll kiss the highest hill, salute the bravest mountain
and follow the trail, to touch the blue sky

Knapsack on my back, following the track,
way up high

And when i descend
my eyes meet the sea and the moving waves
and as i gaze in wonder
i still love you my darling, and the world does too

Left foot, right foot
Held close to me
Gracefully we move

The dance of our time
Is like never before
We practice so often
Rarely ever on the dance floor

It's mostly with words
On little phone screens
Wondering if what I said
Painted the right scene

I step
You step
Next step
Who's step?