The voice of shame

“you're never enough”
so the voices go
in shame you go

“never enough”
you believe it so:

never the richest
never the strongest
never the wisest
“never enough”

“never enough”,
so the voices go...

down, down they pray you go
down, down to spiral so

shame comes in waves.


the desire burns
to be enough,
to have the strength
the looks
the honor
to be a man among men

no matter what you do,
the voices tell you
you are not.

in whispers he anchors you,
in lies he binds you,
hoping you never come up
with the rest of your kind,
with the rest of man.

together, men drown in waves.


though the tides are high
and many
are searching at sea

there is a voice in the distance
a voice from behind the light, 
a father’s hand
from afar
calling out to you,
seeking to rebuild the ruins
of man


in following this new found voice,
you quickly learn
shame will never quiet your fear.
no matter how long you follow him
there is no end to his depths,
there is no life in his promised comforts.
in the end, shame is
nothing but a lie.

you see it too, in the eyes of the men passing you
down the street:

they feel it too.

together, we live
in a world where, before all we come across, 
despite our best works, days, and efforts, 
we strive and
feel as though
we are not enough.

some combat their insecurity with pride,
others blanket themselves in disgrace

it's not wrong.
for no one's been taught another way.

little do we know that
through it all
god's eyes remain.

little do we know that
through it all
god's eyes never waver
from love.

through it all,
God is within reach
waiting for you to turn to him,
to his arms, wide open:

he's waiting for you to fall in.


and so,
you must choose your voice
to cling to

you must choose which voice will shape you.

day after day,
you must choose
to identify yourself
over shame.

you must choose
step into your skin

to take up your name

to take form
as you become
your dreams.