Tallying up the Scores

There's this surrender you feel
at the end of an era
when you tally up your losses and gains

If there is any certainty,
it is simply:
it's impossible to see all they myriad of ways
everything is connected
to each other

Losing a lover opens a door
gaining some power can make you feel like a whore

And it's in this eternal call-and-answer that we live out
that we often find ourselves trapped in the ideas
that we just can't seem to let go of

We call out for freedom
and we cage ourselves
We yearn for more options
and we tie our hands

We spend so much of our time trying
just trying to meet the expectations we believe others have of us
and we spend so little time just loving

This world
it is beautiful
and there is so much in it
that we could grow
if we just gave a piece of ourselves to it

The secret is in embracing the chains we choose

All expressions of freedom
inevitably put us on a path
where one thing takes the place of another
All choice
in the end
is us deciding on what to carry and where to carry it to

Freedom, by definition, limits us
yet, it sets us free

The truest expression of freedom
is loving
without strings attached

Yet at the same time
Love, it connects us
and makes us whole