Hard and painful work have brought me to this point in time — of my journey. Thank you to those who have loved me into being.

i am released from the shark tank
By: Jim Kellogg
(The Queer Poet)
10-21-24

last night
i put down
the stuff –
the weight on my shoulders –
following a short respite
i will try my best
to leave it there
it…
a story of many twisted chapters
a warning to the masses
a memorial to a highjacked past
i am walking again
the uncertain path
the mysterious path
the exquisite path
one step in front of the other
i am certain to
once again
stumble
fall
rest
regenerate
but for now
i am reclaiming
my emancipation
from the imaginary chains
of your twisted and demented desires
i have removed my portrait
from the landscapes
of our shared story
i will tuck it away
to keep it safe
to keep it free
the past was stolen by you
the future is mine
the remanence
of your insane acts
for now
will no longer live in my head
i have survived
i have told the story
i have been believed
the raindrops of my soul
water the flowers of a fresh spring
a growing season
an awakening
a thrust forward
i am released from the shark cage