Slowly destroyed.
Put down.
Stood up.

Every day she tried
To better herself.
But, in the end,
It was easier
To shut out and hide.

She tried to appear bona-fide.
But where her life was going -
She felt it was up to others to decide.

It’s not that she always wanted to be lead.
It’s that, when she really needed it,
No one ever heard what she said.

But when given the chance to freely express
Herself with no limit,
All the judgments she’s ever heard
Seemed to push their way into the spotlight,
Now well-lit.

Crossing paths with others
Who have done great for themselves,
She thinks,
I wonder how it brought them here,
Their trip through hell…

She needs no reminders of where she could be.
A look in the mirror
Is all she needs to see.

Even the physical scars of the past
Are evidence of
Where all these moments,
Called life,
Have taken her;
Right up to the last.

I enjoy
The bliss in life.
The often unnoticed
Abyss of life.

The Touch-your-toes,
Now-head-and-shoulders,
Feather-in-your-hat,
Swo­rds-stuck-in-boulders
Sides of life.

Looking up
And out at the sky,
The cold wind
Greets my skin and my bones.
In the grass,
With you,
I lie…

Talking about how too many people
Live sheltered lives
And how they try and make us clones.

I put my hand on my chest,
And feel
My heart beat inside of me.
I close my eyes,
And no longer doubt,
I’m where I’m supposed to be.

Throw around words you never really learned.

Toss ideas into a dish best served raw.

Hope that those who take the time to give it a chance

are captivated.

But no one’s taste buds are the same.

Most, including the creator, never satisfied.

I present to you

Judgment

Growth

Knowledge

Life

Sometimes
The complexity of emptiness terrifies me.

Sometimes
I lose the will to prove myself.

Sometimes
Holding on feels more comforting than moving on.

Sometimes
Being cradled in the arms of confidence
Leaves me with legs too weak to stand, as a kind of consequence.

Too many times
I’ve found myself deep in a sea of gluttony
Drifting with the waves of privilege, luckily.

Too many times
I’ve put my pride before love
Setting others’ feelings aside, rather than above.

But without some of these times,
Life wouldn’t be worth all the climbs.
No steps to take above perfection
Always just walking in the same direction.

The vivid colors,
Through my eyes,
I see.

They remind me of what’s
Meant to be.

If my life were lived blind of
Everything,

Then I suppose I’d only know of
What my other senses bring.

It’s a shame,
The amount of complaints
Each moment summons.

Especially when,
If I started counting my blessings
Right now,
I’d already be in the dozens.