Liberated!!! What did you think? I was going to stay down? Not get up? And live in a defeated state? Or better yet, walk around with shackles on my feet, so that to others, no more can I relate? You have caused me much pain, much grief, and much heartache too; You thought yourself to be superior, but you only did that which I allowed you to do. I was bound for so long, not really understanding what true freedom meant; Certainly not redeeming the time, because it was much too far spent. All of that is behind me now and my predestined mark is up ahead; The smile on my face and the swagger of my hips replaces the tears that I once shed. Now that I am free, I can use you as my stepping stone; Because I removed you from my shoulders, a place you used to call home. The length of my stride is graceful, although discomfort sometimes I feel; But the prize that's waiting for me keeps my focus off of the pain I knew to be real. I am proud to say that the callouses on my feet are not from neglect; They are simply over-healed bruises derived from; standing my ground and regaining my intellect. So...Mother Earth, you thought you had me down, To get up, Father Time you never waited; Regardless of your failed attempt and efforts, it's my moment to be celebrated!! Enslavement and bondage, from your grips of arrest, I am emancipated; The life I have in me, Keeps me... It keeps me LIBERATED!!!