Tuesday, March 03, 2015

The Family Nest - Poetry by Yvonne Perry

The Family Nest

Pushing from within this egg
I’ve trapped myself inside
With the limitations I borrowed
From “them”
Not my idea of a life well-lived
But conformity was easier
For a while
Than the effort it would take to buck the norm
The expectations “they” had of me

I know what I want
I can see it,
I can taste it, feel it
Just outside my comfort zone
An imaginary line
With a “No Trespassing” sign
I will not cross into the land of the free
Unless I am brave enough
Not to care what “they” think
Or say,
Unless I ignore the looks,
the whispers behind my back

Help me make a run for it
Take a stand and get out of hell
I can’t stay in this prison of their expectation
My heart is calling me
To run with wild horses
Kicking, screaming, pushing, biting,
and yelling if need be
Drag me away

I opened the door just a crack
To take a peek at what I lack
Cover me while I dart into open range
If I get shot, it won’t kill me
Staying where it is “safe”
Praying things will change
Is deathly—more idiotic than
Believing that a chick
Can live without emerging
from the only life it has ever known
inside its shell

So what will it be, Dragon? Rose?
Christ! Hold me! Hold me!
No, push me out of my nest of complacency
Let’s break free to whatever is next

(c) 2013 Yvonne Perry


Yvonne Perry is the author of these books:

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