Feral Creatures in Cathedrals

I feel a fire swirling,

every swallowed word

loosened,

every silenced defense

crescendoed

into a symphony

of courage.

I see myself

as I am,

a wild wonder feigning obedience,

stuffing vibrance where no one can see it,

smiling soft and pretty like a girl should be,

pretending

I'm not salivating for the scrumptious scent of life

pretending

I don't long to sink my teeth in

pretending

I am not a bleeding messy creature like all good humans are

pretending I am

diligently riding the undercurrent,

out of sight, out of mind,

but I'm tired of pretending.

A fire is swirling up from the cathedrals of my solitude,

the secret sanctuary she calls home -

the raging woman who scoffs at mockery,

the unkempt sorceress who dances in the flame,

the playful child who dreams and dares to leap from cages

who screams

I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive.

don't you silence me

don't stuff me in your boxes

with your labels

with your expectations

with your disapproval for the feral creatures,

because yes,

I am one of them,

untamed, undefined,

unafraid to reveal myself raw

to stare right back,

to scream for those who hurt and laugh in hatred's face

to dance eagerly in the fires of change and

exalt all feral creatures because

you are one of them,

hiding behind your masks and cages,

hiding behind your disapproval,

hiding behind your mockery and judgement,

hiding behind the games you were taught so well to play.

now I love that reckless part of me

that doesn't give a fuck about the rules,

the part of me that keeps me flying,

fearless,

free,

eager to take up space,

relentless with wild song,

singing defiantly so you can hear

there is nothing

to be

afraid of,

our voices are not poison,

our anger is not violent,

our hunger is no sin,

but a gift of hope for what is possible when we

set loose the feral creatures in cathedrals

and

feel.