He thinned me out like a burnt rope; I held onto single threads of passion to live. Hanging upon these single threads is where he let go; leaving me to hang by my lonesome. It is here that I realized I hang in pain; weak in the wind; sole and alone. Lest, in a situation that could have been the very worst curse upon my heart; it was the blissful beginning. From this spot where I hung free in the wind; I grew strong. I learned my mistakes. I learned my reason to live was not him; nor would my future continue with our arms interlocked. I learned that I can survive storms. Here, I no longer hang onto something; but stand for myself. I stand for what I believe in, who I am; and the new power I hold over my life and my future. I stand for my family and friends and how they built me into who I am today; why I chose to stand on my own two feet once again. I never believed to find joy in a tempest like this; until I considered the thought, “While hanging onto something, was I ever truly free?”