Voices

These voices, a cacophony of din, ring in my head, but most of them aren't mine. Somehow, they found their way under my skin. Most are not nice, anything but benign, masquerading as my true voice within. Their suggestions, it's better to decline. They tell me I must do all kinds of stuff, because, otherwise, I'm not good enough. Oftentimes, a voice has rescued me - the one that says, "you're down, but you're not sunk", when there's no shred of hope that I can see. It says, "take one step" to shake off my funk, when my life feels so bad, I want to flee, it helps me face troubles from which I've shrunk. Because of these encouragements I am alive. They tell me what I must do to survive. Another voice, I like more than the rest. Inspires me to discover and create, to love with the heart beating in my chest, who says, "the time is now, no time to wait, your love, my friend, must always be expressed", and, day and night, it leaves me feeling great. These are the words that show me how to give, not self-blame, or just survive, but to live.