The Stage

Tongue tied girl,

your wings twist into the bend

of a spine that could not cut it

the first time around that sky

or even the second and third.

But remember,

you are the master of those knots

you tie yourself into like asking

for payback inside the punishment

you wrote into a story that you weren’t

supposed to be starring in anyway.

Exit the stage, left or right,

the end is never the end

until you say so and I don’t hear

you singing just yet.

You are trying to fall into the finale of you,

expecting a call for an encore,

but the show…

is still casting, the story…

it’s written in pencil.

It’s still waiting for you to unfold,

truth of your story be told

as it is, not as a wish

of all you could have been.

Save those wishes for the end.

Right now, the cameras are still rolling,

the stage is yours,

the lights won’t shine until you say so,

the theatre is empty

the only audience… is you.

Pry the nails from the palms

of those pieces that will never

make the final cut to matter

center stage in your story

when the lights come on.

You will see….

When the tie in your tongue

unwraps itself out of the knot

to lash out and mean it.

When the crooked twist in your wings

straightens out the bend

to show your spine

how to cut in like a knife

carving a finale permanent

across the heart

of that standing ovation,

begging for an encore.

-Stephanie Bennett-Henry

#stephaniebennetthenry