Underscored

Beaten bruised belittled and abused

Left confused and used

While I plead you stand accused

I can’t proceed while you mislead

Oblivious to your misdeeds

There is no blood but I still bleed

In a flash I’m in a flood

I cannot see

I cannot breathe

I cannot swim in this sea

If it were up to you I would not be me

If only I knew how things could go so askew

Hid from view

Planning a coup

It’s time to bid adieu

This is not

The paradigm

I will not take the fall for this crime.

They break but my bones aren’t broken

I’m soft-spoken but stakes are high

This war cry is not just a token

Vilified, villain-ized, rectified and purified

From a chrysalis I am a butterfly

Reborn, no time to mourn,

this weight was too heavy to be borne

A levy and a thorn

I can let go of the hate

Not a victim of fate

I don’t wait, I walk straight on the road I create

I am owed but I am bleary, teary but thinking clearly

I have a theory

When I stand tall it will sink in and sync up

I’ve been on the brink, I’ve seen it all

I did not cower and fall when backed up against the wall

Smacked, cracked and black and blue

What to do, break through, I’m over you, fuck you

I am awake

No more heartaches and mistakes

I’m at the ground floor, out the front door

This is post-war underscored

What I’m renowned for

 

***

This poem was inspired after I watched this amazing Vox video. I just wanted to see if I could do it.