I am from never being good enough
Where your best efforts don’t measure up
I am from frigid silence and brutal remarks
Where I swear, you shake hands with Worthlessness
She lingers and laughs and pushes and shoves
You are on the edge and She tells you to jump

I am from a child’s tears and crushed dreams
Where the broken pieces of you are almost palpable
I am from the heart led astray
Where you can smell Defeat and Failure
They bury you so far below the dirt
And tell you “Just lie still, it’ll be over soon”

I am from the emptiness left on your lips
Where the words “I love you” never seem to formulate
I am from the ears that will never hear acceptance
And the sound of hitting rock bottom is played on repeat
The voices in my head tell me “I’ll never make it”
And I believe them

I am from looking out for yourself
And being your very own shield from pain
I am from struggling to be me and who they want me to be
But most of all,
I am from getting through it the only way I know how:
Alone