I was raised by stags, snakes and sisters
up north, they value the silence
and I held my breath for years

I was raised by the dirt streets
as ***** as the person I would grow to be
the streets lined with crosses and weeds
the streets that contorted and consoled me,

I was raised by the frozen lakes and black ice sheets
and the snowfall that would bury me
I was raised by the winds of january
cold to the bone and choking patiently,

I was raised by the roots of the trees  
how they dig into the dirt, like you dig into me,
deep into earth and the hurt and the nature of us

The winds howl to remind me of the winter's toll
that of the wild in all of us,
how quickly one can deteriorate
how every smile has a price to pay
how every wound festers in a different way.