Removing the Societal Shackles
Heather has a Bachelor's Degree in English from Moravian College and has been freelance writing for more than 13 years.
Looking for a change in scenery after dust settled
Began to understand the reality of situation
Time to pick up the pieces and move to the next step
Not entirely clear what happened now; just prepared for it
Ready to escape these confines: real and imagined
Not sure how much of was self inflicted or otherwise
Secretly required to live up these false expectations
Have to check off boxes A through F in order to be complete
Unable to check off letters C & E for various reasons
Snide barbs coming into play that chipped at not so private insecurities
E's incomplete nature wasn't anyone's actual fault
Cannot finish it due to medical conditioning and uncertain timing
No need to snipe in a few digs about not being able to fulfill it
An unofficial obligation that might be medically impossible
Wanted to leave a legacy behind; now unclear if one could be left
If DNA didn't come into play, which was purely rubbish thinking
Love meant more than having specific chromosomes
Felt like a prisoner enslaved to the control of a collective
That believed people needed to look or act a certain way
A failure if not living up to these unwritten standards
Exacting in nature that turned everything into a grind
Tearing away at what made you unique
Forcing a generic 1980s Jell-O mold onto a 2021 figure
Needed a hacksaw and a blowtorch to take off these chains
Added too much weight and made it painful to walk
Covered in the dirt, blood and embarrassment of it all
Tired of feeling like a dirty little secret that needed to be hidden
Nothing of a tawdry nature that tabloid television
Loved to salivate over for weeks on end
Aired everyone's unclean linens without hesitation
Ran for cover after the exposure was complete
Became an advocate for one specific client
Knew all of their inner workings and what made them tick
37 years of experience would do that
Time to make a move regardless of the outcome overall
Decisions needed to be made for the long run
Scared and also looking for a conclusion at the same time.