I'm almost underground,
Gasping, struggling to move..
They've buried me.
Covered me in what they think is true,
Little things about me they've assumed..
And hidden almost all that's real.

I'm fighting.
Struggling, kicking out.
But there's nothing to hold on to.
And I'm almost underground.

I'll climb out.

The winter has come and the trees has gone cold
Times have slept and to traverse the land is bold
But when hope is gone and all troubles unfold
I look inside and smile, as I have been told

Hope is like fire that forever burns

So even if I walk alone in this treacherous path
I keep my head held high and continue the journey
Since deep inside me, I still have something burning
Embers of an old memory of days that have gone past

This ember reminds me of a peace once lost, but still ties my thoughts
This ember reminds me of a love long gone, but soon might return
This ember reminds me of a future I can hold, one I can believe in
This ember reminds me of happiness that I need to recall before it's too late

This little flame warms me up for the journey ahead of me
I reassure myself that everything will be fine
In the dark shadow of the valley, I don't know what's ahead
But I steel my resolve and continue; the ember smiles

The ember is my strength, the ember is my resolve
Without it, I may be an empty husk, without it I am not true
So I nurture my ember and keep it safe until it grows
Back to the great flame it was once stood

The ember reminds me of those who care and you.

Can you promise me one thing though?
As my foundation and strength, can you rely on me too?
So I know that my worth is known by someone that regards me high
Once you do, and I see it through, I can grow wings and together we can fly.

The winter will pass and the sun will shine
Together we shall cherish this memory of mine
That once an ember now grows back to flame
If you're still there, I know I can thank you by name.

I might be Poe reincarnate....
Who knows we share similar traits:

Impossible to muzzle
For us poems are puzzles

To be solved by
the reader's resolve

I could go on for days
telling you how we're the same

but only time will tell if the history books will, like his, remember my name.

I have it in spades
But it comes in waves,
In the climb, I know I'm worth it,
On the precipice, it feels so clear,
In the curl, I'm tested,
It's in the break that I get lost,
And just as it pulls me in,
I ride upon the backs of the strong women who surround me,
Holding me accountable,
Exposing the humanity that grounds me,
Resolve is a funny thing,
I have it in spades,
But it comes in waves.

I look to the past

to make sense of my present

   and it will never stop me for

       looking towards the bright future

          The journey my life takes won't get

              better by mere chance or luck

                   It's up to me and only me to make

                        life worth living by choosing change,

                                a constant page that keeps on turning

                                      a rule that always reigns
                                    
                                          But with it, I'll mature and chip myself

                                                  away and make my world shine anew,
  
                                                            and let the energy flow

Her tears were rainbows,
a rainfall commitment to herself.

Never would she let that pain
again bring tears to her eyes.

Tomorrow was an olive branch --
a beacon of hope.

She'd long chased a raven --
a deliverer of despair.

So she resolved to become a dove,
to be strong in resolve
and a bearer of hope.

Don't you just love it whenever
Everything comes together?
When despite all your fears and doubts
Your hard work pays off, things work out!

The feeling is a special one,
That feeling of a job well done.
For though 'twas hard, you stuck at it;
Though you could have, you did not quit!