The Illusion I Had Of Freedom

What’s your name they ask me
Curiosity in their eyes
So I tell them my name is Aira
And I ask them theirs

My name means ‘the free one’
Like an eagle soaring through the sky
Or a sea turtle gliding through the water
A leopard running so fast and swift
A herd of horses in the wild

My name is Aira
‘The free one’
And I am grateful for my freedom
To make choices
To step outside alone
A little girl now fully grown
Getting more and more freedom each day

I am free indeed
My freedom is like a forest
Wild, beautiful and exciting
So huge and liberating
Just don’t look at the barbed wire 
around the edges

No, no, don’t focus on that
At all
Please tell me how lucky I am
Shame me when I fall

Yes, tell me I don’t have difficulties
Tell me I am so free
That I take my freedom for granted
Don’t see my past that is haunted

Ignore the pressure that you have placed
Upon my shoulders
As I carry it with grace

Ignore the comments I get
And don’t even get me started
About social media and its threats
About society’s mold
I must fit in
About how friendships get complicated
How they don’t see beauty from within

It didn’t used to be like this
The forest was smaller yes
But the barbed wires didnt exist
My name is Aira
It means ‘the free one’
But the truth is
I feel anything but free