Run Poem by Shelly P. Harrell

I want to run.
Run back to myself.
To the soulful flow of life's collective essence expressed uniquely as me.

I need to run.
Run so that I can breathe.
Run so that I can live.
Run for my life.
I need to run right now-
before it is too late.

I must run.
Run to unearth my buried soul...
Buried under death and grief,
Under shame and guilt,
Under ego and pride.
A soul buried under fear and rage.
But I won't run from the darkness.
For it is only in the darkness that I have seen the light.

I will run.
I will run until the armor hardening my emotions has fallen away,
Until the muzzle that has silenced my voice and my truth has blown away in the wind of my strides,
Until I have ripped from my face the mask of that bourgeoisie stranger who stifles my creativity,
Until I break through the walls separating me from the infinite expression of my love and passion,
Until I have released the chains that keep me enslaved to the past.
I will run until I get my groove back.

I am running.
Not running from,
I am running TO.
Running to liberate all that screams out within me for freedom,
To reconnect with the earth and the sun and the ancestors,
To remember the rhythm of my dance,
To reveal my divine eccentricity.
I am running to reclaim and renew my spirit.

Watch me run.
Watch me run in joyful celebration.
Watch me run in transcendent revelation.
Watch me run in loving liberation.

Yes, I run.
Then I Rise.
Then I will FLY.