Color Me Black and Free

I used to long to blend into my surroundings

I wanted to be just like everyone else

But I never quite fit the mold

I willed the whole wide world color blind in vain

To not attract attention to me

I didn’t want to see how dim I shone compared to the others

Not ever considering that my light could be brighter than those around me

Nor did I want it to be

For the most brightest of stars

Eventually fall

And the most beautiful of flowers

Get picked

Only to wither away and die

I longed for a superficial beauty

One that was unthreatening

One that was familiar

One that was standard

But that wasn’t meant for me

To follow the herd of sheep who are comfortable in their complacency

To be trapped

Frozen in place

By critics and tormentors opinions of me

To be tamed

To try and contain

My spirit in the cage that you see

What you don’t see

Is that I’m really bursting at the seams

I am wild

The world that I craved to be a part of

Exist in black and white

The world that I have created for myself

Is iridescent

The white numbness that once controlled my every move has evaporated

My orange heart beats unapologetically

I

Am

Me