"I've been through worse."* She stated so blankly. "It's not that big of deal."

"He laid his hands on you. It is a big deal."

"Not compared to everything else. On my list, he's one of the kinder ones."

And it hit me, she has seen darkness that I could never understand. There will be pieces of her I'll never know, and that was heartbreaking
all on its own.

I'm often asked
Where my inspiration comes from
And to be frank with you
My writing is simply a lost girl
Trying to grasp onto something steady
In the midst of war
With the blood spilled in battle
I put together words that sound enchanting together

Where the world sees beauty
I just see red

"Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic."*

"But I think you're absolutely exquisite and I tell you all the time."

*"I know."

All I ever wanted was for someone to fight for me

You wonder how girls like me get so messed up?
Well it's because the only person who has ever fought for me
Is me
And that fight
Is the most exhausting battle I'll never escape

I push you away to see if you're like all the others
And you are
I was the fool for thinking you weren't

You asked if I was scared
I said no
They asked if I was okay
I said yes

But I'm trembling
Because the feeling of your fingers on my neck
Are still burning

You see a girl who is...
Horribly honest
Provocative
Obnoxiously opinionated
Provoking

What you don't see
Is every man who stole my voice
Every person who made me feel small
Every encounter that belittled me
Made me believe I was nothing
That took away something that didn't belong to them
Who made me feel unsafe

I've been burned by countless people
And what you see now
Is who I've built with the ashes
So I will never apologize for who I am
Because I am fearfully and wonderfully
HER

I would have been yours
So easily
All I needed
Was for you to fight me
But obviously that was too much to ask
Because now I hardly mention your name
And all I ever hoped for
You ran away with
And you never looked back