stumbling on the doorstep of love (audio poetry 3:10)

They wanted you to fit into boxes
designed for someone else
So you folded yourself into sacred origami
And transformed your sharp edges
into high-flying cranes

They wanted to squeeze out every last drop
of your inherent juiciness
So you popped a cork of unclear origin,
tapped an infinite wellspring
And immersed yourself in a shimmering pool
of rippled becoming

Someone suggested you play small,
And in turn, you chose to amplify
every individual cell that you could locate,
To anoint yourself with the kiss of life,
And rise to a level of brilliance
that blinded even those
who looked away from your singular beauty

They wanted you diminished
And you expanded far beyond the limits they assigned,
They wanted you burdened and beaten down
And you hid your most precious gifts until you knew
it was safe to bring them into the light of day,
They judged as they themselves had been judged
Sowed seeds of acrimony into venomous minefields,
Sacrificed the innocent and squandered
their birthright of love
in a noisy hailstorm of darkened fear

And all the while, you wrapped yourself
in a cobbled blanket
of self-care and nurturance,
Nourished yourself at the succulence
of All that is Divine,
tucked yourself between willowy ferns
and thornless roses,
while benevolence licked your spirit clean

Now, at long last, you rub the sleep from your eyes
And waken into a world of your own creation,
Gentle arms and open hearts greet you
in splendid welcome
Radiant joy and honor attend thee

Not a single voice asks, “What took you so long?”
It has been but a moment that you stumbled
upon the doorstep of Love