couldn't be a pretty lie

you wanted someone soft
with only petals and rainbows
that held no traces of the
dark rain clouds that once birthed
them into being,
you wanted me to be tame
and contrite;
smiling even when i wasn't happy
because it made me
prettier --

i prefer kindness and compassion,
but sometimes i am thorns and sharp edges;
i won't apologize for it anymore
every rainbow comes from a dark place
and without my darkness
i couldn't appreciate
my light

sometimes i bite and i bite hard
with fangs,
and sometimes i cut hard with talons;
i am not someone you can throw away
because i am not someone who dies
like a flower or a caged bird

fierce and wild i will never be tamed
immortal moon child i will always burn
rebellious and furious --

i am sorry i couldn't be the pretty lie
you wanted, but i will never apologize for being me.