The Caged Bird Set Free

She told me that they’re all wondering, “Is Marissa OK? What happened to the Marissa we know?”

And my soul cried. My soul screamed, how unfair? They never fully knew Marissa. Because I never fully knew her, I’m just beginning to set her free. It reminded me of that one guy in high school that said, “Marissa lost the glimmer in her eyes... how sad.” And my heart broke. And my heart screamed, That glimmer was not put here for your pleasure or satisfaction; Maybe it didn’t die, maybe it just didn’t feel safe to be shone in your presence. Our Spirits are SCREAMING in unison for freedom in a world that has not yet grown to appreciate its fullness; We’ve been convinced it’s safer to keep parts locked away, Only displaying what we’ve been trained is tolerable and appropriate, Grinding our teeth as we hold back those parts that others can’t handle, Simply because they haven’t addressed it in themselves. We forget that we’re not whole as long as we’re denying the pieces.  Kinda like the caged bird. That’s the thing about cages... We don’t know we’ve been inside one until we’re let out. And for a while they feel safe. They can even feel spacious and free and supportive; Then just as we’re tempted to take a lick of sweet freedom, guilted gratitude seeps in and quietly spits, “at least you can still sing.” Defeated, we resubmit ourselves to a watered-down tune and the clipping of our wings. But what we know about creatures that were never meant to be caged, As we’re all individuals seeded with Divinity, We can’t help but hear the whispers of a song that echoes deeply in the Chords of Humanity’s Heart. It’s the alluring tune of a Soul that continually shatters the confines of its own limitations, And in so doing, shatters others’ expectations of them. Stripping the perceptions that once sustained someone else’s idea of reality; Someone else’s false authority on who you were supposed to be for them. But the loneliest melody there is, is the one for those Souls that never knew they were caged to begin with. The ones that forgot how to sing; The ones that buried their song and forgot they had wings. 🦋