Swirling

I gaze into the mirror in my room and seek my soul.

My throat is dry - thirsty, hungry - soul searching.

Does everyone have a deep someone inside?

Release me.

Free me.

Anyone out there like me?

Often I’m the pallor of gray, yet dressed in ebony.

The absence of color.

Ha, therefore invisible.

I who has worn only black for decades

Contend with a world in shades of brilliance.

Now naked, vulnerable I reach into the closet.

Clothes on hangers - selection of titillating tones,

Chartreuse, maroon, turquoise too.

Cover my body, look in my eyes.

Join the oil paints, watercolors, and

Crayons to form a spectrum of lights.

Like all seasons marked in lows and brights.

Hide myself,

Mask myself,

Wrap myself

Behind the inky facade.

Brown eyes make contact.

See me?

Find me?

Love me?

Dare too.

Yet my mind’s orb takes in a blast of wild hues.

Revealing yellow sunrises and orange sunsets.

The real me,

Yearning to turn myself inside out.

She/he

Him/her

Quiet, shy they whisper.

Secretly not.

I’m a crazed River Dancer bursting out of a box

That holds me prisoner without lock ’n key.

Warden throws splashes of colorful emotions.

Guards sprinkle my path in a glittery palette.

I reach for the silvery stars to light my way.

Warm, huggable oceans

That cast a deep bluish, greenish glow.

My PRIDE eludes me - cast out alone

I wrap myself in a rainbow blanket of tears.

Free me from me - Let me be me

I bask in the sun’s rays

He/she, around the corner

Me, in wait to welcome you.