No, you must not hide your power
Nor stuff it in a shell of smallness
in some attempt at bland conformity;
Must not succumb to thoughts that say
To cloak your power
would make you more like others,
More acceptable, more lovable,
Deserving of more care —
That, to fit in, you must be small like them.
No one is small!
And you must not be fooled
by shells that make them seem so
or games that shells may seem to play.
If you stand up
And breathe into the depth
of your own power
You will awaken
a rush of recognition
And hear the ripping
of all the shells of smallness
Cracking open, falling off from all the others
Who each have found their power
And now step free.
©Wendy Mulhern
February 17, 2013