Becoming Loud In My Own Way Poem by Nicole Patawaran

I am not the silence
people thought I would keep.

I am the sound of heels
echoing on floors
that once told me
to walk quietly.

I am late nights,
bright lights,
music beating through skin
like a second heart
that refuses to slow down.

They tried to name me fragile,
but I learned
how to glow in broken places,
how to dance
even when the ground
was unsure of me.

I am becoming—
not all at once,
not perfectly,
but honestly.

And that is enough.