Free

She learned silence

in the womb of

her mother’s screams

Becoming invisible

wasn’t hard

when no one wanted you

to exist. She became

proficient at

making herself small

around people she loved

because she learned love

was quiet & unassuming

like her daddy,

existing in the lining of

the life he created

from his cotton candy dreams.

That’s what he called it.

Cotton candy, sweet

at first.

So like him

she settled for

existing in places

where no one could

see her. Just one of

the lies she told

herself.

Then one day

she met a man

cuz that’s what happens

in a love story–

boy meets girl–

& this is a love story

in a way.

This man was intrigued

by her silence, he knew

there were stories in her

just waiting

to break free.

But a prisoner don’t hardly

know how to be free.

And she’d become a prisoner,

locked away in the fear

that if she ever spoke

loud enough to be heard

she’d start screaming too

like her mother.

And she couldn’t remember

a time when she

didn’t want to be

anything but

like her mother.

So she kept silent

No matter how

that man who loved her

tried to free her

she refused to be set free

Cuz a prisoner don’t hardly

know how to be free.

So that man, he

had no choice but

to buy his own freedom, but

he dropped the key

by the door of her cell,

even though

the door stood wide open

& he walked away.

So you see this is

sort of a love story

because there are stories

where love is an emotion

but just not enough

to buy freedom

cause freedom ain’t

always free &

a prisoner don’t hardly

know how to be free

Peace & Love,

Rosalind