People that were once familiar
surround me in a room
that becomes smaller by the second.
Cold smiles cover their faces
as they exchange stories
like a record on loop.
They look my way expectedly,
shall I play the jester?
Or maybe the therapist?
Instead I decide that it is time
to take them all by surprise.
Tears fall from my eyes as the pain
in my chest and in my back grows.
They stare at me in shock,
thinking they have seen a monster.
Wings break free from my back
with a loud woosh!
And I took off, leaving behind
all that had once given comfort
to me in the past, now unrecognizable.
Never once had I the courage
to soar through the skies
when everything I knew was
cemented to the ground.
Regret would have been
to settle for less when
freedom exists beyond
what could be imagined.
