This Side of Freedom

This side of freedom
feels like settling into your bones for the first time
even as a child
they seemed to belong to everybody else
as a woman
they gave themselves away
bones without b l o o d memory
will lead anyone astray
and you wandered didn’t you?
to some tragic and some beautiful places
but they were never yours
the horizons, they suffocated you instead of set you free
You’re here now luv
it’s been a long-awaited homecoming
here you will find contentment
in the still moments
instead of fear
find compassion
where rage once seethed
bubbled and boiled over
here,
you find peace
This side of freedom
feels like celebration of skin
a reclamation of body
an undoing of sins
This side of freedom
is you sleeping naked in bed
Unflinching. Unafraid.
All historical trespasses are set on fire
embers eventually evolve to ash
carried away by eastern winds
s c a t t e r e d
them shackles are never coming back
This side of freedom
is a prayer
an exaltation
Celebrating a world undone
by the magic in moonlight and tears
in letters burned with offerings
A woman resurrected
A woman remembering
she was never meant to be prey
This side of freedom
is a crown reclaimed
and remembering
this queen came to slay

*

In spirit,

Helen K