How dare I be brave and liberated?
That’s not what I was made for.
I arrived on this earth as a surprise
soft and sweet
taught to be paper thin, amenable, and quiet
clutching a hand full of compliments
and doling them out generously like trick or treat candy.

Treat others with kindness above all else.
Trick yourself into thinking it’s for the best to be selfless.
Slowly fading away from my power.

How dare I write beautifully, submerge fearlessly, and move on and upward?

Hardened by mistakes and missteps into papier-mâché
knowing I can be cracked, but not broken.
Or left shattered like I was before.

I use the rupture to reevaluate
reinvent
repair
relearn
recreate
who I am.

I dare you to try and stop me.