it starts just beneath
my skin
crackling cascades
of courage

it swirls behind my ribs and smiles
as they tell us,
all of us,
what to wear
how to be

it surges up my throat
to my mouth
and my lips
part, letting it pass
without a pause

because it has waited too long
hidden
in the box
i called home
in the box i thought
would be deemed as
acceptable
right
predictable

I am not predictable

© Isabella Greeff