Photo: Jamie K. Reaser
Until you have been a caged bird,
you cannot truly appreciate
the grace of flight,
nor know what it is in your
heart to sing a song
from the branch of freedom.
Until you have been beaten
down,
you cannot truly appreciate
what it is to rise,
and to rise up on the behalf
of others.
Until you can hold your fists
when others let them fly,
Until you can let the tears
come like angels to save
you from your own bitterness,
Until you can package your
wounds in colorful wrappings
and glossy ribbons and give
them away
to those who have nothing,
nothing,
Until then, you have not found
your own longing.
So, keep going.
Let this world be your place
of dark beauty.
Let your heart find its point of breaking.
Earn your joy.
Earn it with all the might of your
soul!
But, never forget -
“Don’t
you dare ever let me think that you have forgotten!”
It has been there all along.
~ Jamie K. Reaser, Author
For Maya Angelou, with
deep appreciation for her gifts
From "Portraits"
(a work in progress)
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