I didn’t write this, and I don’t normally post things here that I haven’t written, but I’ll make an exception. This poem was posted to a discussion list I’m on by its author, and it touched me deeply. It beautifully articulates a feeling that is very familiar indeed, the ways that I, and so many people, shrink ourselves, contract our horizons, all for the sake of not rocking the boat and not frightening or hurting our loved ones. I’ve stopped doing that, terrifying though it has been, and it’s worked out so far.

In celebration of taking risks, jumping off cliffs and chancing change:

For the Sake of Not Hurting the Ones We Love

by Mehera Hathaway

I am pacing
Always pacing
In my gilded cage
You say I am leaving
I say I am going to myself
We agree to disagree
And call it a day
Coffee and kisses at the dawning of the day
Are sweet and welcome
But they do not feed my soul
My spirit wants to dance in the flame of my eternal being
You are not holding me back
You are holding me in kindness
And yet I am not where I want to be
How do I tell you?
You will say “am I not enough?”
And I in turn will say to you:
The world is full of love, and so am I

I want to expand and grow beyond the boundaries of this restless life
I want to touch, taste, hear and feel

“So leave me already”
It always ends the same way
And so tomorrow I will wake to your coffee and sweet kisses
Unsure of what the future holds
Knowing that my leaving
Is the only way to truly come home

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 19th, 2007 at 4:10 pm and is filed under poems and lyrics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.