The Garden Between Us

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 She blooms, a vine reaching for the sun,

And suddenly, the furniture feels wrong,

The room itself, a stage rearranged, undone,

A silent song of what was lost for long.


A different woman, watching from the side,

(Perhaps it's you, perhaps it lives in me),

Feels a small pinch, where dreams were gently tied,

A life unspoken, told it could not be.


We learned so young, to line ourselves in rows,

To check our height against the girl next door,

Safety, they whispered, only truly grows

In shrinking down, and wanting nothing more.


So when one rises, tall and brightly bold,

It stirs a fear, a whisper in the bone,

That her success makes our own story told,

A little less, a little less our own.


I know that feeling, in my own two hands,

The urge to soften, dim my vibrant hue,

To guard my spot, in these familiar lands,

By holding back the grace I owe to you.


How easy then, to let that instinct bloom,

To spread a chill through silent, judging eyes,

To build a wall, a space of shadowed gloom,

And whisper rules in cunning, veiled disguise.


Too often, women carry heavy weight,

The messengers of laws we did not make,

Enforcing lack, convinced it is our fate,

The meager crumbs, for survival's sake.


But darling, no. This is not carved in stone.

Between us breathes a different, kinder way,

To see her growth, and not feel so alone,

To let her shine, and brighten every day.


Her joy is not a theft, a stolen prize,

It does not take away what's meant for you.

Our strength is found, not in comparing sizes,

But in the rising tide, for me and you.


When you allow her petals to unfurl,

Without the need to clip your own back down,

When I refuse to let her spirit swirl

And fall to earth, so I can wear the crown,


We start to break the chains that held us tight,

Unravel threads of stories we believed.

Sisterhood isn't always pure and bright,

A sentimental notion, undeceived.


It's a daily choice, a conscious, gentle hand,

To witness truth, instead of feeling green,

To offer help, throughout this hurting land,

And care for souls, instead of feeling mean.


A radical belief, that there is space,

For every woman, every shade of light,

To stand and claim her individual grace,

And shine so boldly, beautiful and bright.


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