In This Place - Volume 5

"I am tough. I am fragile. I am me.
Hear me roar, hear me laugh
Hear me cry, hear me scream.

I am strong. I am weak.
I am a cynic. I am an idealist.
I am proud. I am shameful."
----Excerpt from In This Place: Laid Bare is Me: Volume Five, "My Symphony".

I am only who I am, nothing more or less than the sum of me, and that's all anyone needs to be.

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If you want to read the latest collection of my edited poetry, you'll find it here on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087M9LLJ1.

Sparks

Little sparks are everywhere.
Some, only one at a time
Others appearing all in a row
Sometimes, we feed them
And little sparks becoming deep
Fires, giving off comfort and hope
Sometimes, we don’t pay attention
And these little sparks flare then die
Growing cold with nothing to fuel them
But that’s alright, because, you see
There are always more sparks
And more and more being created every day
Waiting to grow, to become those fires
You only have to look for the next one
And the next, to see them everywhere you go

Numb

Let it bleed, let it hurt
Better that than to let it rot
Fester, dig deep and grow roots
Deep down, until you have to pull
Them all back out, roots and all
Let it out when something hurts
Let the pain bring you down
Drown in the emptiness
Better than wondering
How you can be real
If you never feel it at all

Foundation

Being able to choose sounds like a wondrous thing
To someone who has never been given a choice

Steps are hard when you’ve never been allowed to walk
Take it easy, take it slow, there’s no rush, I promise

Learn at your own pace, grow when you’re ready
It will come soon enough, once you have the chance

Don’t just sit and wait around for a miracle, though
Go out and make your own, bit by bit and day by day

Choose because you can, because you must, because you should
And watch your steps and choices build a path for you to walk on

Choose everyday to choose, because that is the hardest choice of all

Express Yourself

Opening back up when you’ve closed yourself off
Is never an easy thing to do
Maybe you don’t even want to, anymore
That’s perfectly alright, you know
Maybe you’re fine alone, not feeling lonely at all

Letting people matter again can be hard
Not being ready for that is fine
Someday, you might change your mind
Maybe not

Either way, don’t forget to be true to yourself
Don’t forget that you can be more than fine
You deserve to be happy, however that is for you
Just be kind to yourself 

Everything else can follow after you master that once again

Life is never as easy as burying your head in the sand
But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the beach
The most important part of being yourself is you