Free

[nortan223]

The pleas of an independent spirit are so well brought out in this poem, that I could empathize with the narrator. The imagery in last two lines were so effective in condemning the "herd instinct" that should be a positive thing, but is so often destructive.
A well deserved Spotlight.!!

[SirFleshwound]

Full of confident defiance and a hint of attitude. I was struck by the final two lines. Very cryptic and open to interpretation. Absorbing. Congratulations.

[Michelle]

As a black sheep in life, not just of the family, I liked how you caught judgement and mis-judgement in this. Though if this poem is about being yourself and stuff anyone else, then the rose lines stand out to me. If the rose chose to grow and remain there whose fault is that, why punish the weeds? I hope that makes sense.
Great poem though, it gave me lots to think about.
Thanks

[nightseas]

Fast and Furious...a wonderful wride:)
? What were you thinking when you wrote:
"I rather avoid the nightmarish scenes
Involving being tied to those called “family.”

I thought of how "family" can appear to exert certain holds over our lives that we may feel helpless to defend against. It takes a great deal of courage to risk defying such sources of power--the speaker takes that stand. The quotation marks around the word aim to place into question the meaning of family itself, and who deserves to be considered in that category.

I am astonished by the Spotlight! This comes at a time where I'm pondering my relationship with poetry, attempting to assess my overall ability. Sometimes, I perceive surreal beauty in my poems; other times, the interaction between myself and art turns so complicated that I wonder whether I'm truly living up to whatever potential I have. The events that provoked me to create it caused such an emotional charge that I was left confused in terms of gauging the poem's merits. It is amazing to know that you all saw the beauty within this poem that I originally felt for it. Thank you so much! It is my greatest wish to be able to transmit what I perceive to the world.