Breaking Free
By Katherine L.
Clouds of dust enter my vision.
Blood pounds in my ears.
I taste iron in my mouth-
when no matter how much you spit it out, it lingers on your lips.
The lights dim until it’s pitch black,
an inky silence that fills up the room and suffocates me.
I feel its grip on my throat, the razor nails digging into flesh, telling me
“You're not good enough."
"You can't do this."
"You will never reach those stars.”
Lightning streaks across the sky.
The windows shatter;
glass shards strewn around like a field of blood red poppies.
Raindrops create blurred lines and smoky figures.
I scream for help,
the stranded sound echoing wall to wall and wall to wall,
expect nobody seems to hear me.
A fist crushes down my soul,
mutilating positivity.
But I have a flame burning deep in my heart.
I throw sticks of wood into the embers, stroking it with a trembling hand.
I see the light.
I feel the warmth.
Until the world crashes down on my shoulders.
Strangling my dreams, my wishes, and hopes.
They turn off the light of every room I enter,
throw words like bullets and broken bones,
wrecking havoc
and destroying stars that only want to see the moon shine on a velvet night.
I lay motionless on the ground. surrounded by ripped shards as the voices echo
“give up”
“slip away”
“fail.”
But the fire burns in my heart,
roars in my ears,
telling me to stand up,
up on my feet,
and face the world
with open arms.
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