Bird Uncaged

I didn't expect it. I thought (foolishly so) that if you live a good life, if you are an upright person, if you tell the truth, then justice will always win in the end. So I put on my dress, put a smile on my lips. This was going to work out okay! I had only the truth to tell and that was easy. That, and my life that I had lived with integrity to the best of my ability. The smile quickly left me that day in August 2017. Dramatics. The courtroom and believability was not built on truth, but built on dramatics. Who could tell the story most convincingly? Who would present themselves most fervently? Not facts. Not honesty. But dramatics. And I wasn't the one versed on acting - I had gone in plainly, just as I was. I watched in horror as lies were spun. Lies told so eloquently and smoothly, laced with "facts" that would convince anyone. Why was I surprised? I had seen those tricks before. Only those times, my role was to remain silent. My silence was to protect my...

That is what he had said to me. Almost a year ago. My Love had said I was a wild horse that groomed herself. His words couldn't be more true. As I began my journey of freedom - freedom from abuse, cages and fences, I discovered not just more of what I desired but more of who I was. And that, in the form of animals. What animal could I identify with? As I tossed the question around in my mind, it became clear to me that I couldn't claim just one. It was three - a bird, a tiger, and a wild horse. And interestingly, all three of those animals can, and often are, caged, bridled, or fenced.  The one that spoke the most to me was the horse. I could write for the horse. And going through the initial healing days and months, it was the one that had a voice, especially learning to run again without a saddle, without a fence, and without an owner who hated her. As I ran along the beach of Assateague Island, often I would see them, the wild ponies that would walk along th...

I’ve written of him before. The man who fell from heaven, as it were. The man with the beard, with ripped and torn jeans and wind-wild hair. The man with eyes as blue and as beautiful as the sea.  I felt his coming into my life before he actually did. I don’t know how I felt it but I did. As the days went on, the feeling got stronger. The Italian Leo. The one who’s eyes I had seen in my mind as a little girl.  March 9, 2017. I always ran on the beach of Assateague State Park in the morning. The morning was mine. Not a soul usually except the birds and the wild ponies. Just me - wind in my hair, music in my earbuds - and the ocean. But that day - March 9 - I decided and said clearly in my mind: “Today I will run at 3:00.” And so, God heard it, too.  I felt it again. His closeness. Who was this person? I knew it was a man that was coming, and that he was significant. I didn’t think he would be more than a friend. I wasn’t expecting anything more as the ...