All my life I've been walking on
Straight lines while resisting not to
Step on eggshells because Mama told me
To calculate what comes out of my mouth
According to standard protocol, precise to
The indicators of measuring cups and spoons
Because people are prone to emotional diarrhea,
Extra grams and ounces of spilled truth
Could ruin the age-old recipe of camaraderie,
They warned me a zillion times,
Tattoed on my forehead, unknowingly.
I was raised to swallow my principles
Together with my pride and was often told
To tie my tongue with ribbons of decency,
Hide my opinions in my back pockets
But I was never advised how and when
To lay them out in the open, unrestricted.
I never learned when and how
To raise the right questions, and
Express my perspectives
In plain black and white.
I never saw the beauty of being heard
Without judgment, without fear
Of being tagged a rebel, insurgent
And public enemy number one.
©irleenda
A