He was big and loud
Like a thunderstorm
And I was new.
Fragile and empty
I lived in shadows
Of unattainable perfection and epic glory
Constantly reminded of my purpose
To obey
To conform
To serve.
Born a slave to religion and fear
I wept often from the rewards of failure
Bruises and solitary confinement
Making me stronger, he claimed.
But resentful and bitter
I became a rebel
And a burden
An embarrassment
A liability.
So I was shipped off and tucked away
Categorized and institutionalized
A statistic
A nobody
Lost and alone
Amongst the other social rejects
Soon to become family
Eventually escaping
With tales of embellished adversity
And fictitious and miraculous triumphs
Into the wilds of urban entrepreneurialism I go
Out of the fire
And into the belly of the beast
Consumed by necessity
Devoured by pride
Led by the other lost souls
On a path to nowhere fast
God was my father now
Still distant
Still loud.
I soon became invisible like He.
I soon became free.
Who’d have guessed such a fee?