Unleashing the Artist Within

My artist lay dormant for years on end
But she's out now - alive, vibrant
for your pleasure & inspiration
my vanity, my sanity

Unleashing the Artist Within

Welcome as I reveal

      a part of myself that’s never been known

There’s a seed in my soul 

      that has yet to be sown

and while this piece of my persona has not been publicly known,

       she’s nothing new

I simply haven’t been true

      to my artist within

but keeping her hidden,

       I see now,

   is a sin 

I’ve locked her away

     as an attempt at protection

Because I’ve never

      dealt well with rejection

But I’m growing bored 

       of my own excuses

battered from the bruises

       I inflict on myself to suppress creative juices

All just to keep me confined

     because it’s safer to be blind

If my eyes cannot see

        what others think of me

        my poetry is free to flow outlandishly

But throw in your reaction?

     I’m now at risk

     for satisfaction 

           if you like me

     Devastation

           if you don’t

And while I can try 

       to promise that I won’t

outsource my worthiness,

     that’s a big temptation

I am healing an addiction 

to validation

I can get high 

on appreciation

But that is not why

I created this station

Au contraire!

        That’s what has me scared

I’ve been so afraid to put these words on a stage 

        because they are comfy on the page

    tucked away, no stress

But I must confess:

     you make me second guess

           everything.

So to avoid that duress,

       I convinced myself 

      no one would care what I had to share

and while that caveat’s not rare

     it really isn’t fair

to the hodgepodge of words 

       the writer really wants to be heard

nor to the stranger

        who might learn

from the person on the internet who puts her life in rhyme

I do it all the time

       for myself…

And now I’m inviting you in:

       Come with me as I grow

And if you don’t like me?

     Don’t let me know!

Go find another show

Let me be another source of noise

      on the internet 

      you scroll past and soon forget

And maybe I’ll regret

     bearing my soul into such a vast void

but I think I’d be a little more annoyed

     if I never took a stab at an art i enjoyed

So here is my attempt…

         at Powerful & Poised

POWER MOVE: Think of a part of yourself that you feel is hidden. Do you have a talent that could possibly help other people if you shared it?

Journal about it, then go tell someone about this part of yourself! or post it on social media.

Tag @powerfulandpoised - I’d love to support you as you unleash your own SUPERHERO within.