Drowning, Rising Up

Drowning

artwork and poem by Winsome William

I was once a young, free spirit,

With dreams like eagles soaring in the sky.

But society had other plans for me,

And I found myself trapped, unable to fly.

They told me how to speak, how to act,

How to live, and what to think.

They said that I must fit in the script,

And that anything else would make me sink.

So I tried my best to conform,

To be the person they wanted me to be.

But it was like trying to swim upstream,

In a river that was too strong for me.

I watched as my dreams slowly drowned,

In the tide of society's demands.

My voice was silenced, my spirit broken,

And my true self became just a dust in the wind.

I was told that success and happiness

Could only be found in fitting in,

But it was all a lie.

For trying to be like everyone else,

I'd lost myself for the sake of what others would think.

I wish I could go back in time,

To when my dreams were alive and true.

But I know now that it's too late,

Because all I can do,

Is drown in this sea of societal blue.

Rising Up

a poem by Patt

Once lost in a sea of societal blue,

Trapped in a cycle of conformity,

But now I am breaking free,

Rebelling against the norm's disparity.

My voice is loud, my spirit unbroken,

As I rise up from the depths below.

I refuse to be silenced, to be spoken for,

For my true self is something to show.

I'll soar like an eagle, just as I dreamed,

With my head held high and my wings spread wide.

I'll break the chains of societal constraints,

And no longer will I be denied.

For I've learned that success and happiness

Are not found in fitting in,

But in being true to oneself,

And the courage to break from the spin.

So I'll rise up, and I'll be me,

With all my flaws and all my grace.

And I'll keep rising, evermore,

Till I reach my true self's place.