i remember it clearly,
the saying written under the image of a stoic face,
'nothing is as strong as gentleness-
nothing is as gentle as pure strength.'
words that stick with me today,
that forged me into who i am -
a reminder that the choice is always mine,
and that wisdom lies in knowing
how and when to use my strength.

the midnight abyssal black
encloses,
wrapping me in blankets
of doubt
of anger
of self-pity
and self-loathing,
until i begin to look outwards -
that i might not see myself.
until someone happens along,
and holds my gaze to a mirror.
i cannot look away,
and i must face the night
with all its demons,
unwrap the blankets one by one,
and see that doubt becomes surety,
anger becomes patience,
self-pity becomes honesty,
self-loathing becomes self-love.

break me -
tear me down,
i don't want to know what an easy life is.
burn me -
char my insides,
who i am is not who i've been.

shake me -
knock me down,
i will get right back up again.
turn me -
inside out,
and we'll see how strong i really am.

stronger -
than i used to be,
wiser -
than the former me,
bolder -
than i've ever been before
today's the day i become something more.

beat me -
till i'm bent and bruised,
just a shadow of all my hopes and dreams.
**** me-
leave me lyin' on the floor,
wondering what this hellish world means.

bleed me -
till there's nothing left to give,
and everything i have is all gone,
save me-
from the lies and abuse,
only then can i at last move on.

stronger -
than i used to be,
wiser -
than the former me,
bolder -
than i've ever been before
today's the day i become something more.

break me, burn me,
shake me, turn me,
beat me, **** me,
bleed me -
save me.

stronger -
than i used to be,
wiser -
than the former me,
bolder -
than i've ever been before
today's the day i become something more.

1500 rogue-cow-pounds,
evading capture
in the woods in a town i used to know -
it sounds so funny,
and i want to think it's not real,
and then i remember living near there,
and i sympathize with the terrorist bovine,
just trying to survive outside the only home it's ever known.

i see the warrior,
head high and chin proud,
jaw firmly set against the oncoming storm,
arms at the ready,
your weapons within reach,
ready to strike without warning,
for this is what you know -
only to fight
for the chance to own yourself,
to be free from the oppression that
strangles from every direction
and steals the air from your lungs.

it is just one of the many different yous that are,
one face among many,
beautiful and fierce,
hard and softly loving,
that i have come to know.

and i wonder when the warrior's heart and passion will give sway to the intellect,
when the war is done, if you will be someone newer and better,
and what place there is for me in that time.

kiss the earth with your feet,
let yourself be lighter than the air,
with never a mark made upon the soil -
not restricted by the bonds of the physical,
being luminous amidst the shadowed sphere,
no weight upon my brow,
no yoke upon my back,
upright,
i shall not be bowed -
that was a different me.

his anxieties and fears,
his coping skills,
his strength,
his desires,
even his hands are mine -
all his failures are made manifest
and all my life,
i have been powerless to stop it.

my mind,
my beauty,
my passion and spirit,
my vision,
my talent,
in the hands of the son,
the sins of the father will be broken,
and a new beginning
will take the world by storm.