Walls

These walls

I have counted every speck

every brick

every line of concrete

that hold them strong in place

I know the color

like I know the sound

of my mothers' voices

of my grandmothers' voices

of my sisters' voices

of my aunts' voices

of the voices that have always surrounded me

of the voices who built these walls

Their caring advice and lessons taught,

built them brick by brick

the words that they taught me to use for myself

cemented those bricks

It is not their fault

but neither is it mine

I am trapped

Good girl

Overly sensitive

Kind Hearted

Dreams too much

these are the cornerstones of my prison

The words that force me to be

someone who puts me last

who cares too much for others

I must break out

to claim my own words

to find who I am

when I am free to be me

to escape this prison they put in my head

Freedom is not all roses and sunshine

But nothing can grow in this dark, suffocating air

So I take my first swing

Mightier than Hercules

Artemis and Athena by my side

Tearing down these walls brick by brick

until my hands bleed

while tears blur my vision

my body shakes

I search for a horse like in Troy

to make quick work of it all

but none appears

because escaping these walls mean nothing

if they still stand strong

So I'll toil

and scream

and bleed

and cry

as I go

until down they fall

and I am free

until I find me