it’s time, i think,
to leave behind the insecurity blanket
that has been wrapped around me
like chains around a drowning man

to remember who i am
in the full light of day
and forget the one that has been
bound and buried beneath the earth

should i shed this skin
and consume it piece by piece
that it might never take hold again?
should i flex with sheer force of will
to shatter links i helped forge?

i should, even knowing it can return
and tempt me with warm oblivion;
to overcome once – that is a hope
to another me waiting in the future
and looking back for reminders
that strength lost that can be found,
that the deaf can once again hear sound
and the fallen can continue to rise up
and place their feet on solid ground