I have made you bleed
I have made you sweat
I have made you starve
I have made you ache

I have put you in the mud
I have put you in the ring
I have put you in the crossfire of heartbreak and misunderstanding

I have picked and prodded you like a foreign beast
I have roughed you up like a schoolyard bully
I have carelessly clutched & betrayed your touch

And, yet, toxically, you stay
You open eyes each morning
You rise
You move  
You work

You build things & restore tragedy
You absorb and give
You release
You force air inside your lungs
You put it there, even on the days I don't feel
You deserve to breathe

I am imperfect, as you very well know
But for what you have done
I look in the mirror
And desire to be


Kind.