Leaving the House of Shame {Poem}

I once made a home

inside of my shame.

The rooms were so small,

I could not stretch

my arms out wide.

The ceiling was so low,

I could not stand up tall.

There was no music, no light

in my house of shame,

only silence and shadow.

One day, I heard

a voice outside,

singing beautifully.

The sound was so sweet,

it made me ache.

It told me of all I was missing

as long as I stayed in the dark,

as long as I stayed in my smallness.

Suddenly,

I couldn’t live in the shadows

for one second more.

I threw open the door

and stepped out into the light.

The voice was all around me,

singing honey,

telling me who I am

and who I am becoming.

My arms spread as wide

as the branches of the oldest trees.

I stood as tall as the mountains

crowned by clouds.

And there were no shadows,

only light.

I opened my mouth

to give thanks,

and it was then

that I realized:

the voice

singing so beautifully

was my own.