My youth,

Innocence,

That once sparkle in my eye;

Stolen.

Robbed of a life that could have been,

That should have been.

But now, the strength never to have been seen before, arises.

Overpowers everything that was.

I turn my stolen youth to wisdom.

My innocence to a newborn maturity.

And that sparkle, now returns to appreciate life's beauty.



I stare life in the face.

Square in the eye.

And take it back.



This is now my opportunity to re-own my life,

and everything that has been taken from me.



I am here now, and I have survived.