A Voice To Carry - a Mara Prose Poem

He tried to smother her spirit, because he was afraid her voice would carry He wanted to own her, so he asked her to marry He thought I'll manipulate her, convince her my way is the only way And assert his mental control And in her love, she followed, losing her mind and soul His love was a projection, an expectation, that only went in one direction She was rewarded if she complied but made to feel guilty if she denied It wasn't all bitter, there were certainly plenty of happy times But her voice longed to carry, leading to their demise He set out to crush her ego, to leave her nowhere to go For many years, she laid dormant, conforming to his dreams And for many years, her spirit continually screamed It wanted to be released, respected, and to see a renewal of self esteem There were many a day that were draining, in training for his ideals His life was her life, his wants her wants, his direction, her direction But her voice wanted to carry, but it wanted to carry without correction Yet this did not fit the mold So she began to feel hollow, to wallow and eventually unfold For the future, for the past, they tried to make it last But alas, His tunnel vision, lead to her decision, to open the door to freedom The freedom to be whole, to bring back the freedom he stole She was viewed as a destroyer; spoiled and ungrateful He resented her resistance, he resented her voice and its reappearance It was a threat and made him feel disdainful Life with him was one big ultimatum, but she finally refused to take them She began to make new demands, commands and walk across new lands Insecurity became the measure that obliterated their treasure She discovered the life he had planned, was of one from which she ran Because as a young girl, her mother had made similar demands If his love had been unconditional, then their love would have been positioned For longevity, for perseverance, and would still be in existence But her voice longed to carry ~ Author Mara Prose