Breaking Chains Poetry

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 These poems tell the story of Jesus recovering the fragmented parts of my soul.

Some of them revisit childhood moments where survival required silence, compliance, or disappearance. Others show the slow miracle of healing—when God begins bringing back what trauma tried to erase: voice, safety, identity, and the ability to say no without fear.

Breaking Chains is not just about what happened to me. It’s about what Jesus has done in me.
Piece by piece, He turns captivity into freedom..

 The LORD is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

May 5, 2025

A five year old girl

Was walking to school alone,

Wearing shoes two sizes too small,

With holes in the soles,

And blisters on her feet,

Through chattering teeth

When she got to school, her teacher said, 

“We are going to do something nice for your fathers on their special day!

Everyone, get ready! 

We are going to make them cards for Father's Day!

This way, you can thank them for all they do, and they'll be so glad!”

“But I can't think of anything nice to say!!

And I was taught not to say anything if it's not nice!

So, I'll just stay silently put,

And everything will be okay!”

-Thoughts of a five year old.

Little did she know,

She was so wrong,

She would be yelled at

For staying put

And ignored

As she hid under a table,

Trying to become invisible,

Crying as the holes in her soul

Started to form.

Then -

She'd give up and become compliant

And paint a smile on her face

She made the card,

She faked the love.

Even though she was in a daze,

She hid inside herself,

Because it's just too hard.

She sung a song

About made-up basketball games,

Bedtime stories,

About being “tucked-in”

Even though this five year old didn’t know

What that meant

She just wanted to belong

So she made all these false claims

Of a girl with no real worries -

A girl ready for her life to unfold -

A girl capable of having dreams

And not terrors.

And her teacher treated her with indifference. 

When she finished,

They checked off a box

“Another grade for the students!”

Then moved on to the next slot,

Never giving a thought

To why this five year old was reluctant -

Or how her spirit had already diminished.

And the little girl swallowed the pain.

And went back to her desk,

With a card full of lies

But she must be compliant

Or it'll turn into another mess.

She walked home in the rain that day

Water in her shoes,

Blisters on her feet,

Chattering teeth - 

Card safely dry, in her backpack.

Her heart broken,

She gave the card to her father

With holes in her soul,

But a smile -

A SMILE

Painted wide on her face.

He read the card,

Perplexed.

“YOU made this?” He said.

And laughed. 

The card went straight to the…

Trash.

She choked,

Nodded,

But never forgot 

To paint a smile -

A SMILE -

On her face.

And then dinner was ready

Everybody grabbed their plates

And headed to the living room

To watch TV

As they ate. 

“Maybe things will change?”

The little girl thought, hopefully.

But dad picked up the remote

And we all sat in silence -

Quietly,

Eating,

Not moving,

Waiting,

For the land mine to explode.

At least,

That's the only certainty. 

“What will it be today?”

-Thoughts of a five year old.

Fast forward 32 years

And that five year old girl

Believes she is safe

She is in church, after all.

But the priest keeps asking the children, 

“How do you know your parents love you? 

Come on, how do you know? 

Do they play basketball games with you?

Do they read bedtime stories to you?

Do they tuck you in at night?”

And that five year old girl's holes in her soul start to grow.

As she thinks, “no, no, no.”

And she swallowed the pain

And paints a smile -

A SMILE

On her face.

The next day,

The hopeful little girl thinks she is safe,

But someone tells her, “You should smile -

SMILE more.”

And how can they understand

How those words hurt her to her very core?

Or ever understand

How certain sounds startle her?

She is still waiting for the eggshells to crack

And the landmines to explode

All around her. 

She goes back to her office,

Closes the door,

Almost crawls under the desk

But she remembers:

She. Must. Be. Compliant.

And not make a mess.

She tries to heal the wounds - somehow, someway.

She thinks, “what would she say to the little girl under the table?”

She would tell her,

“Hold your ground,

Speak your truth,

Take your power.”

“Tell them that your father is not stable.

Tell them about the eggshells,

The blisters,

The wet feet.

Let your story speak.

Or at the very least,

Agree to write him a card,

Maybe they'll be pleased -

At least until they hear you speak.”

“If they ask about your favorite game -

Tell them the only one you know -

The Eggshells Game!

If they ask your favorite quality time spent with him -

Tell them the time he screamed at you for hours and threw out all your toys because you made a mess.

If they ask about your favorite memory -

Tell them the only one that sticks out!

About the shadows, screams, and crashes from the stairs.”

“But please -

Don't let the holes in your soul grow

Don't just swallow the pain

And paint a smile - 

A SMILE 

On your face.”

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound…to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. Isaiah 61:1-3

 June 30, 2025

An 11 year old girl was walking home from school,

Terrified, because her parents found out what she did to be cool

A letter, her teacher intercepted,

But in her letter, her voice was speaking through,

Of her saying, “NO” to a boy she hardly knew

Oh, what she did, to be accepted,

And tried so desperately to hide the truth.

Her parents were furious beyond measure,

As she tried her best to explain,

How she didn't understand enough, to fight the pressure,

But all she received was blame, blame, blame.

And one day, she met a man

He chose her, and she felt so cool

But, he had a horrible plan 

Of all the things he would have her do.

She was so grateful to be accepted,

So she went along with all his rules.

Until one day, he wanted something new

She knew, this thing, she just couldn't do

She told him, “NO,” thinking he'd understand,

But instead, she was rejected,

He told her, “I’m dumping you.”

She had already learned there was no where to go for help,

So she Internalized the blame and the shame,

She hid inside of herself.

She had learned a valuable lesson:

She. Must. Be. Compliant,

Or she's at risk of being abandoned.

She learned a new one:

She. Must. Be. Silent

Or she will be blamed, blamed, blamed.

Then one day, she started having seizures,

In the morning, while at school

And she learned how much of a burden,

She must be to everyone she knew.

“It must be my fault, 

Nothing shows on the scans.

It must be my fault,

The medication doesn't help.

It must be my fault,

I fell onto the laptop.

It must be my fault,

No one understands.

It must be my fault,

No one comes to help.

It must be my fault,

No one wipes away the teardrops.” -

Thoughts of a teenage girl

Fast forward twenty or so years,

To her first job, after finishing school.

She needed to warn them about the seizures,

To tell them the truth,

After years of hiding and being silent,

But, somehow, she made it through.

She was terrified, beyond measure

Of what they would possibly do.

As the little girl was driving home,

She was fighting, with herself

“Oh my goodness, what did you do?

You will lose it all, and after everything you've been through!

You will surely be rejected,

What a weakness,

What a burden,

How stupid you must be!

Don't you KNOW?

You. Must. Be. Silent.

And not make a mess of things”

– Thoughts of thirty-five year old.

But something happened that day,

A voice, from far, far away,

“That was so difficult, and

I. Am. Proud. Of. You.”

“Wait,

Just wait,

Now where did THAT come from?

It most certainly wasn't you.”

Somehow she knew, it wasn't herself.

This voice, it set her free

It started the journey,

Of rewiring her mind, her heart, her very being.

And that voice, only getting stronger,

The Holy Spirit, now dwelling inside of her

And all of the pain and confusion, He conquers

As he transforms her into a belonger 

He. Chose. Her.

Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17

He brought me out to a spacious place, He rescued me because He delighted in me. Psalm 18:19

January 16, 2026

It was a bright, sunny day

Flowers just starting to bloom,

And toys came to life,

When Missy left her room

She went over to her friend's house to play

With their barbies,

To play hide and seek,

Or a house role-playing game

Where one of them play the “mother”,

The “father”,

The “sister”,

And they would love each other

But little Missy, in a world of her own,

She lived in her mind, most of the time,

And learned about love from television,

So she didn't know, didn't know

And on this particular day,

Outside, under the porch,

She was held against a platform,

Firm and forced

And a part of her floated away, a pink kite

And more, a burst of sparkly, rainbow confetti

A million and one pieces of her,

A confused, scared, little Missy

But then one day,

Many, many, years later

A calm, trusting voice called out to her Savior,

“Please bring Missy back,” she would say.

And the kite and the confetti pieces, 

Heard a whisper in the wind,

Asking “Missy, are you there?”

The unblemished, scattered Missy.

“Please come back to me,

You don't have to float aimlessly,

Please, I need you,

Your ‘no’, your fight, your might.

I love you dearly,

And there's Someone I want you to meet,

He has taught me, clearly

About love, about peace

And with Him, I have safety

Freedom, friendship, and a Father

His name is Abba, Daddy

And we miss you, sweet little Missy.”

And the winds blew,

And the million pieces of Missy

Floated and flew,

Together, back inside her again.

A miraculous, healing mystery,

Stepping out in faith, she believes

The little girl Missy

Reunited, and a little more whole,

And somehow, she knows

She has the might and the fight

To stay strong, steadfast in the Lord

And she can and will say the word, “no”

To anything and anyone

Not in alignment with Abba,

Because this is another victory He's won

All because He delights in His little Missy.

August 10, 2025

A seven year old girl was sitting on the floor,

Wrapped presents all around her. 

Her family sat on floral couches and blue armchairs. 

Her mom held a camera in her hand,

The girl wore an ecstatic smile on her face.

And she was told,

“Unwrap this one, next!”

As the click, click, click of the camera went,

An outreached hand took each present.

“We'll keep these safe for you,” he said.

All the presents, unwrapped but unopened,

Carried away one by one,

Until only the Eggshells Game was left.

The rest went out the glass door,

Never to be seen again.

She swallowed the shock.

She swallowed the pain.

And painted a smile on her face.

The frozen birthday cake flickered

And she thought of a wish -

Something more,

Something More,

SOMETHING MORE than this. 

But SOMETHING MORE was already there,

Quiet in the corner,

Sitting beside her on the floor -

An Invisible Birthday Guest.

August 10, 2025

A ten -year old girl was sitting quietly in the van,

Crying silently as the tears ran,

She couldn't help it, but she choked,

And a painful, betraying sound escaped from her throat.

She twitched,

Noticing everyone noticed,

But no one looked back.

No one asked, “What's wrong? It's your birthday!”

No one told her, “It will be okay.”

And before she could stop herself,

She was crying hysterically,

In the back of the van, behind her family.

Empty seats surrounded her,

Instead of her friends.

The van parked at the ice skating rink.

And her father shot back and glared,

“You stop that NOW! Or we will go home and take all the presents back!”

And with an icy cold blink,

And a swallow of tears,

Her heart turned black,

But she painted a smile - 

A smile -

On her face.

Little did she know then,

But those seats were filled,

With her very Best Friend,

Her invisible Party Guest.

In the ice skating rink,

The little girl began to think,

And shaped a small strategy -

To keep her safe,

To swerve from more pain,

To dodge this day's tragedy.

She found freedom

By circling the rink,

Not hearing the voices,

That called from the brink,

Not turning her head,

To look at them through the glass,

When they asked if she'd drink.

No thanks, she'll pass.

Her heart was still broken and black,

But it was mending,

And turning white as snow,

For her very Special Guest,

Was skating right along beside her,

And they skated all night long,

Him cleaning up the mess inside of her.

And now, looking back,

She wonders,

How did she know?

There was something,

SOMETHING MORE,

All along. 

A tiny flicker, 

Her Biggest, Bestest Friend

In the entire world.

August 10, 2025

Fast forward fifteen years,

The little girl is in an aquarium,

Tiptoeing behind someone,

But still, somehow, she's carrying him,

Trying desperately not to shift any of his gears.

The beautiful, colorful fish

Vibrant,

Full of life,

Finding freedom in a glass tank,

But somehow, they're not suffocating.

As she stands there, hesitating,

She watches in amazement,

She makes a silent birthday wish,

For there to be something more,

Something More,

SOMETHING MORE

For her, than this.

She blurts out, “they're in paradise.”

For a moment,

Her own voice surprises her.

He turns, sharp as a snapped twig,

And catches a flicker in her eyes.

But something cold shifts,

She feels it coming, the familiar sting, 

The same familiar little dig,

And she latches on to her birthday wish.

Abruptly, he starts dictating

Where they should go next,

And she wonders why,

Is she even perplexed?

She gets inside the backseat of his car,

On the right side, not the left

Her body leans against the door,

Her face pressed up against the frosted glass,

As she watches the world swim past,

Obsessively analyzing how her birthday went.

She collapses into herself,

And thinks, "This is just how things are.”

A gentle, quiet Presence sits next to her,

As time itself skates and swims past in a blur.

She turns toward a tiny, bright flicker,

And she doesn't know how or why

But she remembers:

There is something more,

Something More,

SOMETHING MORE

For her, than this.