I live with fear. 

It congeals in my stomach like cold gravy,

and presses the air out of my lungs. 

It freezes my blood until the shards of ice are ripping me apart from the inside out. 

I carry the fear constantly. 

It whispers soft lies into my ear,

and tries to convince me that 

everything I am is not enough. 

But the fear doesn't make me stop. 

The words surge up, burning in my bones and 

singing in my veins with a delicious heat. 

I am more than the sum of my parts. 

I am so much more. 

The fear unravels before me 

as my words ring out bold and clear. 

The words force out the echoes of my past and

the whispered lies that rattle in my head. 

I have found my voice, and the fear will find no friend in me. 

I choose to be brave. 

I choose to be heard.