Fear is my armor 
It protects me from the unpredictable
It makes me work double time
So I’m never caught off guard

It’s often exhausting
To run laden with the weight
But I tell myself my safety is worth it
And I know no other way

But last night my armor fell away
It cascaded off with no warning
And before I could catch it
It exposed what was living underneath

It was a grief so powerful
It dropped me to the ground
Unbound and unapologetic 
Pouring deep from the well of my body

My howling cries joined other voices
Voices of the ones who came before
Whose stories still live in my skin
Those who never had a chance to feel

And as I lay curled on the ground
It was them I thought of
Grief washing over me
As I whispered: may we all be free