and for once; she said:

"I can breathe.”

and darling; it was all because of you.

                                       Alysia Marie 2016 ©

I sit under the trees
these ancient beauties
with wealth and power

The deep rooted secrets
of the past and future

The barks peel and shed
as they reveal the crux

The fruity sap to sate
The pines fall to scorn
At the heart of my grave
The casket where I lay
Visioned,blunt and blurred*
As the sun squares the soil
The branches pave way
The leaves flavour the day

On the ground I walk to reach
I am alive, dead and blessed
I can't feel the throb and pace
I can't hear the cries and pain

On the sky I live in the light
I can't see the dark phrase
I can't touch the old I left
I can't sense the faces I knew

On the ground I walk and reached
A new place of euphoric twist
A destination totally unseen
A scent of the summery lavender

On the bridge I run across
The weight of the change undone
The body and the heart are mine
*My eyes, the soul are a rebirth

I walk the street,or travel in a bus,
When I talk or I move,or even restrict myself to my groove
You stare me down with that glare of yours
You make me fall with that scowl of yours

I am your daughter,I am your wife,I am your mother
Every woman who goes through the plight

But worry not,O hungry men!
I rise..
And will keep rising
Stare me however much
I still will rise

You revile me,beat me and bring me to dust
You reprimand me with your words and the way you make me work

I am your wife,your servant or the page boy who runs for every errand
I am the beggar who clings to you for alms
I am the street dog injured by your harms

But worry not,O unthinking human heart!
I rise..
And will keep rising
Higher than the skies
I still will rise

Chained and fettered,by your iron shackles
You pull at my wrist with a freedom you burgled
And with bullets that on me you showered
You scorn me with your hatred
You trod me as if I'm dust

I am a slave,I am a Jew
I am a fat man and I am black too

But worry not still,O discriminating fool!
I rise..
And will keep rising
To infinity and to forever
I still will rise

And rise will I
Above your rebuking glares
Brighter than the lights
Till my halo makes you blind..

you weave a sickly web
I was just a little fly
you beckoned me in and wrapped me up
and left me there to die
i know that you are blind
and truly so was I
your sticky threads were glistening
but they were just a lie
my body perished, but I've been reborn
and now I see you clear
small predator, you'll scuttle
when I'm the one to fear
you've a spool and cunning mind
and patience lasting years
but I've got eyes, a sharper mind,
and no more time for tears

It wasn't your first time around
And I know this has to be true
Because you always seemed like an old soul
While I stumbled around clumsily, brand new

I'm still stuck here for a reason
And although God plucked you from this earth,
I have to believe that it was your season
And that I am bound for rebirth

It seems that you were born into perfection
And though younger, much wiser than I
Your time on earth was shorter
But just as much, though truly much more, worthwhile

I wish, so much, that it had been your first time on earth
And I wish that I had more to offer you
I wish that we could have had more time
But it's clear that you accomplished everything that you came here to do

I hope that heaven is beautiful
And that one of God's angels was there to catch you when you fell
I know that you're having the time of your many lifetimes
Because, even after only 17 years, my soul knows yours too well

Every time I got into that car I dreamed of leaving you
Heading South to a new town where no one knew my name
Forgetting the pain you were causing me
I could have fit everything in that car

I saw you holding her hand downtown
In that tiny little city where nothing remained a secret
I went back to your house, our home
Where you promised me things would change
Where we'd be a family

It took less than an hour to get everything out
It all fit in that car
I took the dog
I called my mother, admitted defeat

You didn't call to ask where I was
Where I had gone
Where the dog went
You knew

I headed North
A true blessing on the rise
With each mile
A bigger smile on my face

There was snow on the ground when I got there
I drove straight to the beach
I dipped my feet in the icy waters
I felt nothing
I felt everything

I started from scratch
In a big city where no one knew my name
I began trusting my soul again
I fell in love with myself again
I didn't hear from you for two years

You called me at midnight
On a Tuesday in May
To tell me you were marrying her
That you were sorry for the pain you caused me
How you shifted my life

I thanked you.