Falling as the stars fall,
Tethered to you.
We felt the forces of gravity and friction all too soon.

Tentical tricksters.
Tethered to buckets; draining.
Find my Well runs full.

I am a writer and I've always known it.
Even when my feeble self-esteem conspired against my urge to pick up a pen.
I carried it around
like you carry relics
my pens.
Remained tethered to them.
I write now.
Perhaps because I am not a talker.

.
Cut me loose

     from these strings

          that bind.


So I might again

     exercise the freedom

          of mind.

.

When it comes to our Christianity,
we’re to be like tethered lambs;
ready to die for our Faith, while
displaying grace, love and humility!

Though we’re surrounded by wolves,
our Great Shepherd can keep us safe
in green meadows, under His watchful
eye; it’s usually from ourselves…

that we require the most protection.
Nothing can separate us from Yahweh
and His right hand; therefore, let’s
offer genuine praise for Salvation

and the promises expressed within
His Word, including… Life over sin.

I lumber sluggishly,
dragging the weight of my body.
Every pound is tethered to me,
I can’t escape the heaviness.

I am stuffed into clothes,
encased in figure-hugging fabric
that looks better on the hanger
than my rounded, fleshy torso.

The scale is an unlucky lottery ticket
displaying a number
that I will carry around
shamefully like a scarlet letter.

I count calories like beads on a rosary,
making sure I shrink to conformity
critical of every extra curve
because to love my size is a societal sin.

Airbrushed beauty queens
and slender starlets
wear their size 0 like a badge of honor
in the battlefront of glossy magazine covers.

I’m crushed with the weight of the world I inhabit
a place that teaches girls to be self-conscious
of each pound that sticks to their body
instead of teaching them to be confident in their own skin.

I’m tired of micromanaging each nutrient that touches my lips,
to achieve a slender frame that resists my big-***** body
self love is not a one-size-fits-all
and I will radically adore every ounce that is tethered to me.