Soul Searching
A poem
Why do I suffocate who I am with who everyone wants me to be?
I can’t breathe beneath the weight of this fabricated being.
What if I embraced myself, forgave myself-
instead of pretending that I am someone else?
Early on I learned to shift my identity
to be less like myself, to neglect my own needs;
acceptance was earned and love wasn’t free.
I learned to suffocate who I am with who everyone wants me to be.
Perfection became a necessity-
learned to not speak and never disagree
but silencing who I am has exhausted me,
I can’t breathe beneath this fabricated being.
The woman inside is screaming for help
all these years of emotion left unfelt
creep out into a life that feels like hell…
What if I embraced myself, forgave myself?
How I long to live as more than a shell,
to discard these demons with whom I dwell.
What if I began to accept myself-
instead of pretending that I am someone else?
