the shroud

You drape over my body ‘til nothing is left bare
They say you’re my protector but insecurity’s buried there

I raise my arms but my hands cannot clasp
This shroud is unyielding, silencing questions that are asked

I know not how you grew so heavy, so large…on to the ground
No escape coz you surround me blocking light and blocking sound

So, where I go, you’re there too, from you, there’s no reprieve
I fight to find an opening, some new air for me to breathe

My movements are restricted, such is the power of the shroud
You hold me back, you keep me down, silent fear is shouting loud

You have owned, you have possessed me, I am a lesser form of ‘self’
But now the time is drawing near I need to find that someone else

I can feel your grip is loosening, how long you’ve held that power
If I can put the fear aside discarding years, then now’s my hour

For I’ll no longer cower to you, your control will crack and fall
And I will step into the light with arms outstretched towards the call

genesis . gillian richards . charcoal on paper

And I will throw you to the ground bunched heavily at my feet
Then I will step away from you, no more can you defeat

The world is fresh and unfamiliar, the air is clear; the ground, it bends
But I will write my own story from now until it ends

Gillian Richards