I Am…

I am the woman my younger self wished to be.

I am a marigold, ready to bloom but only when I’m cared for properly.

Otherwise, I wither away due to being treated maliciously.

And what good is having a flower if not wanting to take it seriously?

I am the sound of a saxophone at a jazz club.

Playing melodies so smooth that those who listen will be so soothed.

I am poetry in human form.

I transform every time I perform.

I go from shy to confident,

From timid to unapologetic.

I am learning that I don’t have to be on stage to be powerful.

I am learning that having strength comes from survival.

I am learning that forgiveness is not for them, it’s for me.

I am learning that being vulnerable doesn’t mean I’m weak, it means I’m healing.

I am the woman my younger self wished to be.

I am a fighter, ready to fight any fight that comes my way.

I am learning that if a man doesn’t respect me, then he doesn’t deserve me.

I am learning that no excuse

can justify any type of abuse.

I have been learning how to love myself and it feels so beautiful.

I am the woman my younger self wished to be.

I am poetry in human form,

I transform every time I perform.

I am a survivor of the storm,

I am a flower that has survived all of the thorns.

I am the woman my younger self had prayed for me to be.