Soul Retrieval

When did you hide
the smoldering embers of your soul
in the stifling closet of propriety?
Was it when you tasted
the pride of peer embrace,
that cast you in a less than suitable space,
of sterile proportions?

At first you wanted to protect yourself,
to resist, or at least deflect
bulldozers of mass approval.
But the song of deep desire
that longed to emerge
Was crushed by society's
surging choir,
whose threats of hell, or even worse
pulled you so far off course.

Somewhere along the public trail,
you sold your self to celluloid,
when you crashed, derailed,
into the beguiling grip of image patrol.
You chose style and roles over perfect fit,
and friends who altered bit by bit.
But all the while your pasted smile
paid its escalating toll.

The self you think is nowhere'-
is not the self
who's really now here..
Just go back into that closet,
past the uniform guards.
Find the coal that is still burning,
find the goal that got discarded
when you gave up your true yearning,
and sealed the inner chambers of your heart.

When you know you have a choice
you can give your words a voice,
before the swindlers steal your harmony.
There's no price tag on your value,
don't sell out to any buyer,
don't let them douse the fire lying
deep in karmic pockets of your core.

No matter what it cost,
find the treasures that you lost
when you traded gentle dreams
to those who schemed for your decisions.
Go back, retrieve those visions,
and recall the inspiration;
knife through a door of liberation
that draws you to the grandeur of your life.