Striptease

I shall shed
the labels that define me:
   mother.
   wife.
   writer.

I shall slither out of the accolade-titles
that make me cringe:
   nice girl.
   hard worker.
   good mother.

I shall strip away the designations that were my armor
that made me proud:
   homeopath.
   published author.
   homeschool teacher.

I shall obliterate 
the marks of my shame:
   lazy.
   unproductive.
   business failure.

I will stand
   naked,
   exposed,
   revealed,
Not caring who sees, 
     or who evokes their own version of me.
Not caring who hears
     or who translates me into the woman they prefer to hear.
Not caring who perceives me,
     and who sees herself.

I shall
   see My Self.
   hear My Self.
   acknowledge My Self.

I am revealed.
Nothing concealed.

I am.

That is enough.