The End of Vigilance

Sisters, the time has come

to end the vigil,

this long watching

wakefulness.

I am bone-sore

and soul-weary

from ritualizing the role

I was assigned at birth:

good woman

giving from my own drought,

silencing the storm inside me,

observing the lavish, living world
 from my leash.

I have lost sight of

the truth of me.

My vigilance rests on a lie

and all my strength
 and devotion,

which could fill oceans,

gets siphoned into

playing my part

convincingly.

But for whom?

The ruthless, ruinous

powers-that-be?

It is not for them to tell me who I am.

I close out this night-watch

with honor and respect for both

the careful, keen-eyed girl

who saw to my survival and

the fierce, feral creature

that has survived my domestication.

Tonight, I set them both free

to dance in the fertile darkness
 so that I may decide,

for myself, at last,

what I am.

Photo by BRDNK Vision