UNSHEATHE

I kept my voice low So the light would not break But quiet is a cover Not a grave for me They called me gentle When I learned to disappear Smiled like safety Swallowed every mirror I let the room stay holy Let the candles have their say Let the thunder pass my window Like it had another name But under my tongue There was a silver line Not a threat Just a boundary Sharpening with time I did not break I learned where to bend I did not beg I studied the edge All that silence Was not peace It was breath Before release I do not scream I unsheathe My quiet has a blade inside You never saw it underneath I do not rage I reveal Every soft thing I survived Left steel inside the silk I do not scream I unsheathe Step back from the heart You mistook for weak Unsheathe Unsheathe My quiet cuts clean Unsheathe Unsheathe Do not handle me I wore the white dress Like a promise made of snow Held my hands like flowers While they told me what to let go Every pretty sentence Had a lock behind the lace Every soft apology Left a mark across my face Now the room is listening Now the lights lean in Cause the whisper has a handle And the handle has a hymn I did not turn Into what hurt me I kept one bright Unruined mercy But mercy Does not mean Let the knife Point back at me I do not scream I unsheathe My quiet has a blade inside You never saw it underneath I do not rage I reveal Every soft thing I survived Left steel inside the silk I do not scream I unsheathe Step back from the heart You mistook for weak There is a kind of kindness That still knows how to cut There is a kind of softness That does not ask to be touched I am not less tender Because I learned to draw the line I am not less holy With a blade of light inside I only cut the cords That taught my hands to shake I only split the cage So something real could wake Soft voice Sharp light One breath Drawn bright Soft voice Sharp light No more hiding In white I do not scream I unsheathe My quiet has a blade inside You never saw it underneath I do not rage I reveal Every soft thing I survived Left steel inside the silk I do not scream I unsheathe I kept my mercy And I kept my edge I do not scream I unsheathe Step back from the heart You mistook for weak I kept my voice low So the light would not break Now every breath shines Like a blade leaving me