Courageously Me
Locations
I remember the dread that surged through my soul.
The sight of the school building transformed into a prison
But I knew if I tried to escape I’d trip over my own fears.
They say education equals future happiness.
The future is eons away.
All I know is this existence.
All I hear is the incessant name-calling, blackmail, slander.
All I learn is new words that rhythm with useless and worthless.
All the time you’d find me in the Nurses office
My body rejecting the poisonous hatred in my veins
I could no longer feel anything.
No pain, sorrow, or joy.
When I finally shut out the world
My heart pounded in my chest like someone locked out barefoot in the snow.
It remembered what my head had forgotten long ago
It lives, and it’s my life to live
My life to regain
And from that heart evolved courage
The courage to be myself, love myself
Now standing eons away
I look back proudly at that building
I am truly wiser
Happier
I am courageously me.