I’m going to tell you some things
that get down to the deepest
level of thought,
the place where cause and effect
are calculated, the place where,
regardless of the words you tell yourself,
you make decisions of your heart and movement

(What you believe, you see,
cannot be seen by what you say —
what you believe is shown
by what you do)

Down here, you’ll see
the bargains that you made
along the way,
the things against yourself
that you agreed to
because you thought
you had no other choice

I’m telling you now:
you can let these go
when you see they haven’t served you
and have never even
given you anything

You can let them go
when you see yourself
standing in your native stature,
undiminished and unbowed.

©Wendy Mulhern
November 2, 2017