Shackles

There comes a time in the circle of life where everything is on a loop

Like pins and needles s(he) devours you mind body and soul

The moth always excruciatingly close to the flame but they never collide

Whispers and whimpers that send tingles down your neck

But that doesn’t make your heart go boom, does it?

Every word you utter; a recurring echo

Can you still hear your voice when the “me too” is scraped off?

Silhouettes are all you see when you steal a glance,

But you never meant to look, did you?

At dawn when the sun caresses your face you’ll hold a mirror up

And like a needle in a haystack you’ll want to untangle after you hear its screams

The urge to peel off all the layers and see what’s beneath shall beguile you,

Stuck in a limbo whose shackles you want to break free from

You’ll tell your people you need space to “find yourself”

But is that what you truly desire?

Time and time again you feel something for the first time

Almost like you’ve shed new skin

You cut the cord and its freeing …

But you’re not soaring as high just yet.

You can’t have what you want

So when they wrap you up in rainbows

And the labels they want you to be don’t fit just right

You lie and say you don’t want that scarlet letter staining your silky skin

But you’ve been lying all along…

How will you find yourself when you are afraid to look?

You don't peak through the blinds because you're scared of the scars you'll see

Maybe if you allow her to unravel you might see how she sparkles through the storm

You’ll remember the sound of your voice and the doors it will knock down will break the shackles that kept you from soaring all along....