Because I Breathe

I breathe,

not just in and out,

but through.

Through ache,

through hush,

through all the nights I held my breath to survive.

I breathe, so I speak.

Quiet at first, like morning testing its light on the backs of shut eyes,

like a whisper not asking permission, but only for space.

I speak, so I choose.

And choice, after a lifetime of silence, feels like rebellion wrapped in softness.

Choice,

feels like naming myself in a language no one taught me.

I choose, who I am.

I am not the echo.

I am the origin.

I am not the story told about me,

but the story I live out loud.

I breathe, so I speak.

I speak, so I choose.

I chose, so I am.

And I am

finally, undeniably

mine.