Vulnerability

This poem is dedicated with deepest respect and admiration to Brene Brown, and all the work she does to try to help us all cope with shame and its' deep scars. I wrote this after watching her talk entitled, "The Power Of Vulnerability."

I was there
And I was burned and forgotten
But I didn't tell a soul

And I looked in the mirror on a long night
And told myself that I was ugly
But I woke up the next day
And told the world that I was okay.

And one day I spoke the words that scared me
But he turned and walked away
He just walked away
And it burned and burned, as I ached with fire
I swallowed the flames
Leaving a charred throat inside of me
But I smiled when I saw him
And I let him know, screaming with a positive demeanor
Screaming, screaming with lies and lies
That I was fine, that nothing he could do would hurt me

And all of that may seem fine
As we sing songs about dodging bullets and wearing armor
But the fact is
That is not what happens
We are broken, we are bloody;
And I have realized
I'm no longer afraid to say it
I'm no longer afraid to be ashamed

See these scars on an old, seared soul
And know that they came from you
You, the taunter
You, in the mirror;
I condemned myself
As the worst of the worst, the last of the last
Imperfect,
And never, ever enough

But now I know
I am not invincible
I refuse to be numb
I refuse to let armor
Be an empty cage

I lift up vulnerability
To wear the wings she deserves
And I hold my heart out
To show you the bruises

You see,
You and me
We're not so different
We have both drowned
In the river that is shame

And I just wanted to write this poem
To tell you that's okay.