Reify

As the smell of freshly cut grass wafts through my nose, I lie in the breeze of the wind and the lapping of the current against the rocks making me wistful. Blades of green grazing my skin reminds me of when I would seek comfort in these pastures. Away from the blinding flashes of cameras and under the rays of the sun on my face. Away from pedestals to look down on people and into lakeside reflections. Away from being the subject of both legend and song and becoming the teller of stories and a player of tunes. Raised to take after my kin made immortal by power. Whose footfalls cause tremors and have countries on their knees. Whose voices can melt steel. Whose heat are felt through the clay of statues erected for them. Beauty is an all-encompassing adornment. Kindness is a wholesome rarity. As I bend over the pool, these are the thoughts I have traveled realms to search for

with strength that surpassed the unknown. Memories flowing through me and into the water.

With my every entrance, crowds erupt in cheers and no longer fear for the blood of their kin I can taint my hands with. The stories I told handed over to generations and the tunes I played healed their sick.

Courage is the truth I can pin my hopes on.

I once was a hummingbird in a gilded cage. Now I am an eagle who spread my wings. No longer dreaming too much or aloud, instead living the fantasies. Enjoying the tales I tell and the music I make.

True love may stem from loving others when I can’t love myself. Both my demons and dragons have been conquered— by the conqueror in me whose footfalls travel in hordes, bringing ashes to the land. Whose voice molds steel. Whose presence not made into clay, but knitted into tapestries spreading blazes for all.