Culture and Expectation

I tried.
And tried, and tried...

to control and vanquish my emotions.
to force your head and hands to heal.
to bury secret yearnings.

to settle like the dust.

I denied my desires
and gave up to guilt.
I held steady through
stagnation.

I convinced myself of
believed in
and held onto

bullshit excuses.

I reached out for a fairytale
like all gullible princesses
while pretending I wore no tiara.

After years of silencing instinct
intuition reveals
the elaborate lie
I tried and tried
and failed to live.