breaking free

while I might see the reflection of this in you,

this poem is really about me breaking free.

unreasonable expectations for perfection

continue to plague me.

to not mis a step, nor a beat, to remain

always on my feet, like a good soldier.

I can give you the world,

yet for myself I continue to put myself

down for my needs. second-hand love

for myself does not leave me replete.

like a ragdoll tossed in the wind,

I find myself face down in the mud

again and again.

dusting off seems my greatest skill, again

climbing up the seemingly endless hill.

the value I see in the trees, the move of the breeze.

learning to live it, breathe it

and see it even in me.

with each breath in 

I choose to love me,

with each breath out, 

I learn again to be free.

Lighting the match

I watch as I burn down the 

Expectations that keep me de-elevated,

de-valued and de-pressed.

Washing the ashes down the drain.

Once again, I can my freedom re-claim.

Breaking free of my self-imposed cage

Keeps me from dying in the feelings of rage.

Breathing into the new space, 

I now can return to the warmth of the sun,

With grace in my heart 

and a smile on my face.