Chameleon

What am I?

A nameless, faceless, mindless sponge absorbing each experience as it comes.

I can change my personality as quickly as a sky can turn from a diaphanous kaleidoscope of color to unconditional darkness.

Am I a sister, a friend, a daughter, a lover?

Can I be everything and nothing all at once, two opposites intertwined and fighting, defined through the eyes of the observer?

My face a replica of another’s, a sister, a twin, held up for speculation.

Can you imagine the frustration?

I am the chameleon, changing shape, expanding boundaries, searching for that impeccable fit.

I am tight with the elastic weight of expectations, ever stretching until, SNAP! Annihilation.

I am the phoenix,

And from my ashes, the original shape always returns, pushing, chaffing, wanting so badly to confine me.

But I shed my skin when I outgrow it.

For I am limitless.

I am the chameleon,

Always struggling not to follow my forcible need to conform.

I defy this natural instinct,

I do not want to be a mirror, merely reflecting back others.

I want to take the first strides, lead the shocking plunge, and watch as others begin to follow.

I want to show the world that I am greater than a mere reflection,

I will be the rock that starts the ripple and I will watch it stretch far beyond me,

Watch it span oceans, rush down rivers, create waves

For I am the creator, the rock pushing through the surface, finding the gap in what seems an impenetrable expanse.

And I will make change, break boundaries, cross borders,

This is only the beginning of my story, I will spread my wings to their full expanse and soar.

For a phoenix rises from the fire that destroys, thrives when others would have perished,

No matter the boundaries.

I will rise.

I will transform lives.

I will make a difference.

I will defy those that think otherwise.

For I am human, and at the end of the day, that is enough.