Forged From The Need

I was caught up in webs I couldn’t quite see,

Forged from the need: do you too agree?

Each link a question, each clasp a plea,

To meet expectations of who I should be.

I fed my worth to a hungry crowd,

Bowed to their praise, both soft and loud,

Then felt how approval can leave you bare,

How it drowns your truth in a gilded snare.

So I burned the bridge they told me to cross,

Followed the wind, still shaken by loss,

And once I stopped asking if it was alright,

I found that the fall was the map to my might.

Now silence is sweeter than any crowned yes,

And no is a seed I will not repress,

I plant my new steps in untamed ground,

Where no single nod can shake what I’ve found.

Guided by wisdom that once felt unknown,

I now choose to walk where I’m free to roam,

And trust is the river I already own,

My voice, my skin, my only home.

Cathrine Hottran 2025