i learned my voice 

they told me

i should care what

people thought,

but i never could;

saw how fickle

and unreliable people

were and i decided

many moons ago i would

never need anyone i couldn’t

rely on—

sometimes it was lonely,

but there’s nothing 

more lonely than being alone

in a crowded room;

and it has happened to me more

times than i would care to admit—

but i learned my voice,

my magic, and my power;

and i will never surrender myself

to anyone ever again in the hopes

of finding love—

because i am enough and i am worthy: 

as i am.

i was something deeper 

you wanted a damsel in distress

whose wings were so broken

she’d never fly again,

but when i proved to be more feral

you left me abandoned in grief;

but lust is not love and i am not sorry

that you’re gone

any longer—

i rediscovered myself and my magic,

and refound my voice;

fell into every hue and vibrance of my muchness

learning every lyric of my heart and soul

and even the mythology of my bones—

i was just a book that was never meant for your consumption,

you didn’t realise i was more than flowers and meadows;

i was something deeper that could drown you.