i keep my wings clipped
so that i cannot fly away
i keep a hand over my mouth
so that my words can’t be heard
i keep a shadow in my brain
to suffocate my thoughts
and who has wrought these chains
that keep me in my place?
this is fear: that i will try and fail
and so i do not try at all
this is fear: that people will mock me
and so i hide my light away
this is fear: that i will fly so high
my wings will melt away
we remember the first part of the warning:
don’t fly too high or your wings will melt
we forget the second part of the warning:
don’t fly too low or the ocean will dampen your feathers
it’s safest not to try to fly at all,
but that’s not what wings are for
04.01.22