Brick By Brick

By: Sarah Rescigno

I’ve surrendered myself to the expectations

that pinion me, unable to break free

from the bounds of unyielding pressures.

I’ve laid in a cell that’s been constructed for me

by the bricks that have been strategically placed for me

by a society that works to oppress.

I’ve listened to the demands of those before me,

who have paved the way for my future

before I could imagine it myself.

But no longer will I fall victim

to those captives that keep me shackled.

I will break free.

Brick by brick I tear it down–

This wall that’s held me back.

Never again will I sit idly by.

I break my silence

and disrupt the peace

the way a woman should never do.

With strength I’ve been told I don’t have,

I destroy this prison of inequality

That’s kept me from my full potential.

Dirt cakes under my nails as

I claw at the dismantling wall before me.

I’m almost there.

The dreams I’ve been convinced I’ll never achieve

can be seen as light pours in through gaping holes.

I’m so close.

As I reach the last brick, I step outside.

Fresh air hits my face and the

feeling of newfound freedom engulfs me.

But in the distance, I see it.

Do my eyes deceive me?

Another wall– bricks piled high.

Will it ever end?