Pile of ashes
Numb.
Hopeless. Guilt-ridden.
How could a simple plan of revenge
go so wrong?
Why, instead of satisfaction, did I feel so
bitter, cold, and terrible?
Wandering for a year, stricken by the pain
I caused to the person I cared about the most.

Darkness.
Everything piled up, from a simple butterfly
to a mountain of snowballs.
One February evening, I had an epiphany.
All the pain, self-destruction, numbness
didn't I cause all that myself?
Instead of waiting, why didn't I light the spark myself?

And so it started.
From the ashes, a fire was born
taking flight and taking back
its former glory
A journey of self improvement,
like a sewing machine, stitching up my scars
and repairing the broken all around me.

Reborn.
I am a phoenix, knowing that
we need not ever be hopeless,
because even if you are reduced
to a pile of ashes,
as long as you can find that spark again,
you are invincible.