I will not fear small minds
which lack the ability to define me,
chattering voices
trying to tell me what to do
and how to think
and who to be
because I live for myself
I do what I want
I will not hate my failings
and imperfections,
for these are a part of me
I will not lie
and say I will change for someone else
because they cannot accept me in my entirety
I am that I am
I will not be one to bend
to pictures thrust upon me
of dreams that are not my own
I will not suffer silently
while my hopes are all ripped away
by the well-intentioned blind ones,
by the self-deluded and the selfish
I refuse to listen to the naysayers,
always pulling at my feet
and snatching at my rainbows
I will never be civilized,
put in a box
behind a glass
to be taken out and dusted upon occaision
I will fly
I will laugh
I will dance
I will love
My heart is wild, unrestrained, and unrepentant,
forever free
When I die, my spirit will soar
to worlds beyond mortal comprehension,
for I am the flame
and I will never fade away