Breathe Fire with Me

Maeve Odd

How are you?

No, really, tell me — 
Tell me about your shadows and
Those thoughts that strangle you at night.

Have you dreamed recently?
Do you know what a dream is?

Can you remember the child, 
Whose eyes sparkled like stars, 
Trying to embrace the sky?
You wanted wings so badly.

But your freedom was bound
By the hands that shrank you
Into corners, demanding you 
To breathe quietly or hold your breath.
No matter how you cut yourself down
You were still just too much.
And you tried to 
Simply not exist. You tried.

Your greatest dream was to fly;
But you have only learned to hide.
Did you ever really begin to breathe,
Or are you still holding your breath after
All these years?

Hear me now:
I release you.

Come, breathe fire with me,
For we are more wild and powerful
Than we were ever allowed to believe.

Yes, let’s burn those shadows
That kept us small.
Their words hold no power here.

The sky was always ours; we are just as vast.
Don’t let the past pinion you
With spells of memories —

You can crush them into dust with your name.


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Maeve Odd has recently started her journey of sharing her poetry, and she hopes you will follow along at maeve.odd.poetry on Instagram. Her work focuses on emotional introspection through vivid imagery and metaphors. She lives in California with her two cats.