_______________
I am borne
of love and of sacrifice;
forged from pain and resilience
·
I say, it is not in jest
but in epiphanic confession
that I tell you: I am beholden
Not to the blood of my ancestors
but to the actions of those around me
·
It is the way that
I am my father’s daughter
who taught me resilience above resentment
and change above passivity
They told me
fall seven times, and stand up eight.
He showed me
fall seven times, and stand up eight
·
It is in my mother
whose sacrifices I recall
with more clarity than her face
by night I weep for her embrace
but by day I rejoice the life she forged for me
From her I learned strength,
the power of a smile and
the treasure in our words
·
I see it in he
who was obligated only to do his job
yet noticed a sad girl
who had built towering walls
She needed to be noticed
and he was the first to listen.
From him, I learned compassion
and to harness power in gentleness
·
I point you to the boy,
who has known loneliness like no other
who bore a lifetime of hurt
before knowing warmth
He chooses to smile day after day,
embraces laughter and tears,
for the expression that they are.
·
I declare to the world, and you
I denounce the way
they weaponize my blood,
and demand worship,
for my respect shall be equal
but my reverence must be earned
·
Cruelty is not unique
when kindness is so hard
Immorality is not different
when they sway you to be cynical
·
yet I stand by my words
for there are those who held me close
whispering, “It is okay to let go,
You are worthy of your own love.”
Not Blood as in family,
but love as in Choice
_______________
