What is holding me back?
Me
I am holding me back
believing the voices in my head
the nonsensical things they teach
I'm not enough
people don't like me
there's something
inherently flawed about me
people look at me and point
and laugh and know
know what, you ask
you know
i'm that one 
the one who runs away
when the going gets tough
i'm that one
the one who dresses weird
and has crazy hair
and that damned wolf's tail
swaying under my dress
i'm different
different isn't good
in a world of sameness
i'm different
i don't buy into the social norms
i don't play the games 
we've all been taught to play
but being different has a price
i feel out of step 
with the rest of the world
i have never found my tribe
there's power in walking 
your own path
but it's damned lonely
but to be seen
is fright beyond measure
if they see me, truly see me
(what?! what will happen?)
tears well
all the voices of the past
the ones trying to reach through the fog
to draw me out into the open
"Why do you hide?"
"You have so much to offer the world."
"Why are you afraid of us?"
if they see me, truly see me
my light might blind them

Photo credit: Jason Williard (1983-2016)