I yelled like the city,
heavy burdened with weight
like the shoulders of Atlas.
I tried to sever the strings,
the threads that entangled identity.
I lived in each moment
a passive bystander,
active in lacking courage
to voice myself.
I fell victim to the taunting
tongues of teens,
measuring my worth
with their words.
I sauntered with open palms
begging for friendship
cringing inward
at the sight of rejection.
I yelled like the city,
heavy burdened with weight
like the shoulders of Atlas.
The wolves came,
they outnumbered me,
so I put on my wolf flesh,
cleaving to the breath
of belonging.
I settled for silence,
becoming a shell,
a seed without soil searching
for a place to grow,
but all I found was a barren land
of crowded streets.
I yelled like the city,
heavy burdened with weight
like the shoulders of Atlas.
Unsettled in my cloak,
I sought to rid myself
of the facade,
shedding self-pity
I yelled like the city,
descending into the den
to ascend like a god.