Muddied Colors

I didn't raise you to be ashamed

Of who and what you are

But somewhere along the line

You still learned shame

I have watched you mute yourself

I have watched you garb yourself in black

Both literally and metaphorically

Hiding in darkness

I have watched you struggle through

Relationships and motherhood

Fights, breakups and reconcilliations

And while you excel in being a mother

You cannot be a so-called traditional wife

You built expectations of being fullfilled by

The love of a man

But a man was never the fullfilling factor

Of your womanhood

You are the only factor that ever mattered

Your rainbow could shine through

But you have muddied the colors by mixing them

On a palette of confusion and shame

Clean the paintbrush

Choose a color

Any color

Separate it from the swirled mess

That has become your life

Dash it upon a clean canvas and proclaim

I AM ME! ACCEPT IT!

Know that the one you are talking to

The only one who needs to hear

The only one who needs to accept

IS YOU

I loved you already