Dear Me,

Do you remember

When you were a young, innocent caterpillar,

When you basked in the warmth of the sun,

Took pleasure in the breath of the gentle breeze,

And smiled at the beauty of all things?

Do you remember when you had not a care in the world,

And danced with excitement at the break of each dawn?

Do you remember when the world was a kaleidoscope of vivid colors,

And a cornucopia of joyous sounds,

When delectable tastes tantalized your palates,

And your emotions were always expected?

Do you remember when a smile always lit up your face,

And was reflected in the shimmering cosmos of your eyes,

As you laughed yourself to the brink of tears?

 

Those days of innocence are long past;

Now you do not go outside,

But instead stay and shiver inside your protective cocoon,

Wrapping yourself in the folds of life,

And hiding from reality.

Attempting to shield yourself from the volatile and unpredictable world,

You hide from the scorching sun,

The pelting rain and hail,

From the wind that is determined to knock you down.

You no longer see beauty in the dull hues of the rising sun,

Nor take joy in anything that you used to.

 

You're scarred and broken, hurt beyond belief,

Unable to make out the light beyond the seemingly infinite darkness.

You've built up walls of your insecurities,

And won't take them down,

Even among those you call friends.

You see an insult in every joke, every hissing whisper,

And though some are meant to hurt you,

Many aren't.

 

You shake and quiver at the thought of confrontation,

Preferring to smother yourself with your own cacoon.

You can't see past your flaws,

Slight as they are in the run of things

You can't see the future,

But instead imagine a bleak, gray life ahead of you,

Like there is nothing left to live for.

You don't know if you will ever be free of all this pain

That holds you down, and makes it impossible for you to fly.

 

You don't want to try-

To live,

To be happy,

To be everything I know you can be.

You don't know how;

It's all too much, and you don't know

How much more you can take,

Before you will snap out

Like a turtle that has taken too much abuse.

 

But what you don't know

Is that change is coming your way,

No matter how long it takes to get here,

That you are beautiful and special in so many ways,

That you shine the brightest of us all,

Even if I am the only one who can currently see

The true nature and significance of your light,

That one day you will rise above it all and

FLY,

Breaking out of your self-restrictive cacoon,

And bursting into the delicate air,

As a magnificent butterfly,

Capturing the gaze of all those wretched, wingless souls,

As they are mesmerized,

Rendered speechless by your ascent into greatness,

Trying so desperately to launch themselves off the ground,

And join you in your glory.

 

But they can't even make it off the ground,

Tethered to the earth with their own leaden chains of arrogance, hatred, and envy,

So they just stand there and gape, jealous of you,

And watch you FLY.

 

This poem is about: 
Me

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