I Opened my Mouth and Out Came a Woman.

When I open my mouth
Wire bars no longer fence my words in.
When truth climbs up from my heart into my chest,
I feel my throat’s hesitation—
Its constriction,
Knotting up out of habit,
Tricked into believing it doesn’t need to be heard.

When I open my mouth to speak
my tongue pierces through the rusted wire,
And with it falls fear.
The fear of being judged,
Of revealing too much,
Sounding undesirably disheveled,
Speaking off the cuff,
From the heart,
Trusting my intuitive blaze.

When I stop censoring
and start speaking,
I hear this woman—
This woman who didn’t need to stammer, or mumble her words
A woman who channeled her power
From her hips to her lips.
She communicated—
Honestly and openly
Even when fearful of resistance.

When my words roam free
I witness something magical.
When the authentic self rises,
When it’s heard
The universe,
The people,
The women around me,
Respond
With equal openness.

When I extend authenticity
Others see vulnerability and match it,
Creating tabletops where stories, hopes, and fears are swapped without abandon,
Where chest-fizzling love and
Cheek-stretching cheer
Follow all the same.

Today I opened my mouth and out came a woman,
A woman with so much light,
And so much life—
A woman finally ready to be seen.

Relephant Read:

25 Empowering Quotes from Inspirational Women.

Author: Kimberly Gomes

Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: bhumikabhatia/Flickr