Grace

Shackled hands and feet,
Prison odor, loud eruptions
Bells and whistles
Abound throughout my cell.

Thrusting doesn't help,
Screaming doesn't assist.
Crying and weeping get
No results other than shame.

"Break me out of here!" I yell.
"Please release me, let me go!"
I sing, fearing
The key is misplaced, or hidden.

Examining my history,
Searching my family and friends,
Wondering about relationships, events,
Actions, mistakes of my own.

What got me here? 
Does it matter?
I still want out, and
I am curious why.

It's safe in here, no one
To mess around with me,
No one to bother or irritate
Me. No one to hold me either.

Perhaps, I knitted these chains,
I constructed this jail,
Exacting the measurements,
Wanting so much to feel protected,
But now more trapped than before.

Tired of the safety of
Every day being the same
As every other day,
Nothing new, nothing old.

I beg and pray to unknown ears.
Then, all of the sudden,
A blasting rush of energy,
Anger, sorrow and excitement.

The Grace of Community!
Welcome to the Soul Force, 
The Essence of the Universe 
Appearing before me. I am
Surrounded by a beloved community
Who inserts the key.

The walls shake,
Thunder roars, and my cell detachs
From the ground,
Spins into the sky, twirling,
Swirling, flying upside down
And all around.

You broke me out!
You set me free!
Ripping off my shackles and chains,
I am jaunting the winds ecstatically.

I  couldn't do it on my own,
I couldn't break the binds myself,
I needed all of you to help me
Thank you all, and then....

What to do now?

No more sweet safety, but
Shuddering with fear and hope,
I take a baby step or two,
Then another and another,
Full of courage and power,
I walk on warm, shifting sand,
Quivering with joy.