THE KARAOKE CURE

I had always been afraid.
Afraid of what people thought of me
Afraid of being a failure
Afraid of being a success
I was petrified of looking stupid
Especially in front of women
And that fear held me hostage.
Held me back.
Held me captive.
Until
One night on a date
We found ourselves in a karaoke bar
She was on edge
Hoping I would get up and sing for her
But the fear kept me seated
I wanted to.
But I couldn’t break free.
I never saw her after that night
It was all my fault
And I learned my lesson
I forced myself
To get on that stage
And sing.
It took weeks, but I did it.
Standing on that stage
The microphone in hand
The crowd drunk and easy to please
I let myself be free
I gave the fears away
I sang with all my heart
And surprised even myself
It got easier after that
And each time I stepped on stage
I cared a little less
About what people thought
About whether I would fail
About whether I would succeed
About whether I looked foolish
The answer to all was yes
But it didn’t really matter
I was free
Free to be my full self
Free to express my truth
Free to break my shackles
And free to fall on my face
And get back up again
And again
My voice got stronger
And I used it more
I stood up more
I stepped out more
I became more
And I cared about everyone’s
Opinions of me less and less
Until I didn’t at all
And all because of that date
And the song I couldn’t sing
And the look upon her face
And the feeling inside my chest
And now I get to wake up free
Every day
In every way