Change is never easy.  We’re told this throughout our lives, from that first day of school and its apprehension to the ending of love affairs.

But some changes cut even deeper, run to the very core of who we are.  There’s change, and then there’s metamorphosis of the mind, of the soul.  These are the changes we cannot make, that we refuse to make, for months, years, or perhaps never at all.  The steps we see but cannot approach, our bodies weighed down in the mire of mistakes and mistaken trust.

Sometimes, a heart is not a home, but a prison, its walls high, its shackles strong around us.  We drag our old selves behind us, chained to what once was like Marley’s ghost, with no chance of reprieve.

At least, that’s what we believe.

The misery and madness kiss and caress, but the knife is razor-wire.  It severs the binding ties, strand by strand.  When the hand trembles, hesitates, it must press on, for there is no dance of freedom when the devils still jockey your soul.

Stay strong, sweet girls; it’s always darkest before the dawn.

Shake It Out – Florence + The Machine