Photo by Jeannette
“The future doesn’t belong to the light-hearted it belongs to the brave”…Ronald Reagan
I always wanted to capture that image created in my mind’s
Eye on paper somehow…
Through words or through the lens of a camera or
Even perhaps by illustration
I settled for trying to write it out, to string together
The words that somehow portrayed what was in my
Heart.
When life was painful, I tried to write the pain away
Anything to keep from getting stuck in that one
Position where life smothers you, suffocates you –
Takes away your dreams.
I always felt the need to run from that choking atmosphere
Where people judged me…..thought they knew me,
Thought I was unworthy, not good enough, not pretty
Enough, where being me was somehow not
Acceptable to the standards of the day
I just couldn’t measure up.
I cried a lot then, I died a thousand deaths before
Taking flight to a new realm of possibilities
What if they were wrong about me? What if there were
Others out there like me screaming silently, wanting
To get out, restless, fidgety, waiting for an opportunity
To present itself. Would it be too late?
Remaining in the shadows I peek out just to take
A glance
Can you see me now? Is that little girl from so long ago
Visible to the world? Stepping out, fragile, breakable
I never had a voice, never could speak the words out
Loud for fear of ridicule, rejection.
Acceptance was everything but somehow I never
Accepted myself. Never gave myself permission not
To be perfect – not to be someone else’s perfect.
Gotta take another look at myself, maybe it’s ok to be
The me that I feel inside.
Maybe, like me, someone else needs that assurance
That to be you is all that is required.
Cowards need not apply…….just live your life free and clear
