The View from Here

For so long

I thought that being different

was something to hide.

I learned to blend in,

no matter what it cost me.

Blending in was safe,

no pressure to pretend to be anything special.

But…

blending in is inauthentic

and the older I become

the more I want to be authentically me.

So now I stand out,

even if my voice shakes

or people judge.

All that matters is that

I finally see myself for who I am;

a perfectly imperfect woman

with gray hair and lines that tell the story

of my joys and sorrows.

I make mistakes-

often-

but with the passing of years

has come the knowledge of

what truly matters.

My heart is no longer afraid of being broken;

it has broken many times and grown back stronger than ever before.

In the mirror

the ravages of time

can never steal the sparkle

of my blue eyes,

so like my mother’s,

the joy in my smile,

nor the determination to live a life

with courage.

To stand out proudly

never again fading into the monochrome

conformity that never fulfilled me

in my youth

and never sustained me

in my maturity.

Fear no longer holds the reigns;

instead, love and courage light my way,

shining bright in the darkness.