I stand here now

I learned early
how to make myself smaller
so others wouldn’t feel exposed.

I learned how to bow
in rooms that never earned it.

That version of me is finished.

I lowered my voice
so nobody felt challenged.
I carried conversations
that never carried me back.

I stayed polite in tight spaces
that fed on restraint.
I paid admission
with my own silence.

That wasn’t belonging.
That was survival.

I won’t fold my spine
to fit your limits.
I won’t apologize
for standing upright.

I don’t bow anymore.
I don’t cut myself down
for rooms that refuse to grow.
I take air.
I take space.
I take what I earned
without asking.

If my presence
unsettles you,
that’s not something
I need to fix.

I carried your comfort
like it was my responsibility.
I softened my truth
so no one else had to change.

You called it confidence
when you talked over me.
You called me difficult
when I stopped agreeing.

Now the balance has shifted.
And you feel it.

I don’t negotiate my worth.
I don’t wait to be respected.
If I outgrow the room,
I leave it.

I don’t bow anymore.
I don’t lower myself
for stagnant thinking.
I stand exactly
where I am.

If you can’t meet me
eye to eye,
you don’t walk with me.

This isn’t ego.
It’s alignment.

No more shrinking.
No more softening.
No more apologies
for my size.

I rise,
or I exit.
Those are the terms.

The old life
doesn’t recognize me anymore.

Hard blues-rock with punk grit  driving drums, distorted guitar, shouted vocals, rising intensity, defiant, no restraint