Me by Becca Lefkowitz

Smart, funny, kind,

all meaningless words, 

that essentially have no significance,

friendly, outgoing, energetic,

sure these things are great,

but they're merely adjectives,

adjectives that have no importance,

pretty, cute, adorable,

ask anybody,

 all answers have the same meaning,

just letters combined differently,

pain, fear, distress,

my struggles,

nobody knows the whole story,

possibly because of the way I act,

nobody suspects,

kind, happy, lovable

but little do you know I was once in chains,

chains that wrapped around my body,

cutting off circulation, 

no room for breath, 

no room for movement,

no room for life, 

cuts, scrapes, bruises,

my prevalent scars remind me of who I really am,

brave, courageous, strong, 

and how much I had to fight,

unstoppable, determined, constant,

fight to stay alive, 

fight to be me, 

fight to not lose myself,

and everything I stand for,

free, ambitious, powerful,

this is how I would describe myself,

words that empower me,

to keep on moving,

forward,

not looking back,

however,

never will I forget my past,

this is me.