in the grassy savannah,
a lion
lifts up
his head,
opens his mouth,
and roars.

on the other side
of the world,

a girl – not yet a woman – feels
a whirlpool of emotions
tossing and turning
inside her.

it is uncomfortable but familiar.

she wants
to lift up her head
and roar
and let it out,

but she doesn’t
know
how.

she is familiar with silence,
with worrying “what will they think”,
with nice and safe and good.

and yet,

there is a wildness
within
that wants
to be unleashed.

not the fierceness of
“i will eat you.”

but the fiercely loving
“i will stand for
all that i am and
all i can be and
all that i know.

and i will stand for
all that you are and
all you can be and
all that you know.

because i am
the lion
and the savannah
and the entire universe
and you,
and we are all part of the beauty of everything.”