The Unlearning

Do you remember?

Do you remember who you were

before the world got its filthy, calloused hands on you?

Before those corrupted fingertips began to mold you

into a confined artifice of its own flawed self?

Before the impaired stewards of your formation imposed

their unmet longings

their shame-ridden regrets

their misplaced intentions

as warped compass to your path?

Before the muddled messages

transmuted into the unshakeable earworms

that have consumed every crossroads

you have since encountered?

Too loud. Never heard enough.

Too quiet. Never silent enough.

Too big. Never visible enough.

Too small. Never seemed to fit.

Too fat. Never full of enough potential.

Too pretty. Never perfect enough.

Too plain. Never covert enough.

Too smart-mouthed. Never smart enough.

Too bold. Never daring enough.

Too shy. Never inconspicuous enough.

Too promiscuous. Never hot enough.

Too prudish. Never cool enough.

Too pious. Never virtuous enough.

Too dreamy. Never free enough.

Too serious. Never thoughtful enough.

Too sensitive. Never feeling enough.

Too political. Never diplomatic enough.

Too rigid. Never boundaried enough.

Too foolhardy. Never brave enough.

Too girly. Never good enough.

Too macho. Never man enough.

Always too much. Never enough.

Enough already.

Time to untether, to unravel

To uncover the myths and monsters

To unlearn the untruths

To untame our instincts

And wield our wildness

To reignite the fire within

To burn away those enforced effigies

And rebuild audaciously upon our own sovereign land

Time to step through the embers

Between becoming and being

So that we may finally belong.