Unshackled

By Srivats Voleti

The noise surrounds. 

Opinions claw and bite. 

A chorus dictating the narrow, well-lit path. 

They preach of limits, of the chains you must embrace. 

Heavy expectations, a burden on your back. 

Fear, their constant weapon.

But a different rhythm pulses deep within. 

A silent knowing. An unyielding core. 

My own will the compass. My spirit the only guide. 

Their judgment, a fading echo in the distance. 

Their power, a phantom.

Let them dissect choices. The risks I willingly claim. 

Analyse the stumbles. The ground that cracks beneath.

Their pronouncements are meaningless. 

Lessons etched in struggle illuminate the ascent.

Criticism's sting, a dull ache, no longer sharp.

The desperate need for their nod, severed. 

This journey, mine. Forged in my own fire. 

Marked by conviction. Seeds of my own planting.

A weight lifted. The urge to explain, extinguished.

No more bowing to their narrow decree. 

Energy reclaimed, once squandered on appeasement, 

now propels me forward. Through life's brutal maze.

Destination matters. Purpose a burning brand. 

But the raw, untamed journey sings a louder truth. 

Self-reliance etched in bone. 

Inner grace my shield. Strength found in solitude.

My sovereign space.

Let them watch. Let them whisper their futile pleas. 

Their anxieties, their warnings – discarded. 

In this hard-won freedom, a primal power surges. 

To walk my truth defiant. Beneath my own iron sky. 

Unshackled. Their chains no longer bind. 

The only voice that commands, the beast within. 

Unwavering. Unbowed. My legend forged in fire. 

A future carved by my own hand. My untamed desire.

By Srivats Voleti