of my own life
because that would allow me to take a breath
and understand the web of emotions
i have bottled up on the inside
from my abuse and being detained twice

allow myself to cry
and accept the scars on my body
that mainly happened when i was in a relationship

allow myself to take a break from working
because when you’re a student at university
there’s always something you need to do
like write a poem for class
especially when you think
your well of beautiful words
has escaped you
and you wonder
if you’ll ever be able to write them again

step six- be the backseat driver
of my own life
and allow myself to exist in a world
that was built against me

Angel-Clare Linton is a poet, writer, editor, and publisher.