I wonder what it will take

to rewrite the story that

you hear inside your mind?

~~~

As you speak

you hear ‘victim’

I hear ‘survivor’

you see failure

I see endurance

you smell fear

I catch the scent

of courage

You touch the tears

on your face with shame

–and apologize

I understand how your

heart needs release and

how weeping is a sign of

someone brave enough

to recall and speak of painful things

~~~~

Words create stories and my hope

is that by re-weaving consonants

and vowels you may rewrite yours in

your own unique way and in your

personal time into something similar 

to what others can already see

~~~~ 

©Heather Pound 2022