Ifl stay a nervous bud
my bloom does not encroach upon the grandeur of another & I will invite no retribution,
Though an artist knows that a whole field in bloom polinates the world.
If l stay silent
my words cannot be smithed into a weapon of censure, and be used to cut me into smaller pieces,
Though a poet may take my words & alchemise them into an elixir for healing
If smother my fire
I inspire no deadly ire from neighbouring Suns for whom my shine is a punishable theft of thunder,
Though a sister moon may mirror my light and illuminate the next.
If I stay in my armour
my vulnerability cannot become the missile launched at me by the traitor who begged for my truth
Though an ally may revere my courage
and meet it with the vulnerability of their own open heart.