Put It To Rest: Poetry Month Challenge

Look Up

a poem

Photo by youssef naddam on Unsplash

Trapped like a genie
when the bottle sucked me in
Shackled and needing to escape
It feels good
until it feels bad
I’m relaxed
until I’m jumping out of my skin

You lied to me!
You said the answer was within
but all I found was a trap
Time kept moving around me
If anything changes, it was for the worst
The voices are laughing at me
They think I’ve lost this fight

I’m ashamed
I wish everyone would leave me alone
I’m scared
I wish someone would hold my hand
I thought I needed you
but all I really needed was me
to find me
to love me
to help me

I’m no longer digging a bottomless pit
while hypnotized in a trance
shovel in hand
I can see where I am now

I can look up and see the way out
to freedom
to a better me
to life; one where I have the control
I have hope
I have plans
I have a life that has been given to me
a second chance
to do all the things
I never thought I could do

All I needed to do was look up
so I could see and reach for
the hand which has been stretched out
all along to pull me to safety
The hand up helps
but only because I reach for it

Desiree Batiste is the author of “The Shaping of a Diamond”, a self-published journey through surviving abuse, domestic violence and more told through poems, which is available for purchase on Amazon. Find her on Medium, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok or on her website. Desiree Batiste ©2023.

Put It To Rest: April Poetry Month Challenge