As a child I was told to never speak about my faith
I felt such fear and shame when my mother said those words
Will they truly burn me at the stake?
My mind was trapped in innocent confusion

I went to church with my grandmother as a child too
They told me my soul would be ****** to hell if I don't bow my head and pray
They said trust in the Lord for I am his child, or sin like Lucifer and be punished in purgatory
With such threats what was I to think?
My love of the moon, kindness to the spirits and adoration for the Earth-
Will it truly make me a sinner, will I really rot in hell?

I bit my tongue and closed my eyes
When I was asked if I believed in God
For I could never say I did
And I feared saying I did not
It felt like I'd be killed on the spot
All because I believed what they did not

As I grew up my fear remained
It felt like a secret, my soul felt tainted
But as time passed on that fear subsided
If it is my belief then why must I hide?
When that thought emerged I felt relief
If my pentacle means safety and protection to me
Why must I hide it from the ones who wear the crosses which mean the same?

My religion is not wrong
My belief is mine and mine alone
It took so long to understand these things that should be common sense
Because since early on I was told that I was wrong
But I removed the veil of lies that covered my eyes
I broke free from the chains of doubt and fear
And I ran from the expectations of society that bound me

I dwelled there for so long, suffocating in my 'sins'
As a child I had to feel like a criminal
When all I wanted to be
Was a child of the Goddess,
wrapped in her loving light