Shackles of Expectations

The walls tower so high, no light shone through

Shackled and bound, no escape to be found

Evermore looming is the tower

With every inch I grow, the constraints draw more power

Voices telling me who I am only grow louder

Pressure surmounting by the hour

Heart, body, and soul now fully ensnared

Frantically I search

So entangled am I now

Myself I cannot find

In the prison of all these restraints

A whisper comes in the wind

Yet listen real close

For one tiny voice is beginning to chime

Whose can that be

Surely not mine

Slowly it rises

Now drowning out the rest

Discovering still, it really is mine

Steady as a heartbeat

My voice finally breaks free

This is not who I wanted to be

I can be more, I can be just me

The words piercing through the chains

The shackles crack and fade

The walls crumbling, crashing to the ground

For the first time I feel light beams on my face

So warm, so inviting

Craving more, an uncertain step I take

My whole soul now bathing in light

Each step brings a new breath of life

I'm finally free

Free to be just me