I demand to be heard.
For the tears that endlessly drip down my face,
The tears stained black from makeup
That unsuccessfully masks the insecurities
You incessantly point out
Must be acknowledged.

I demand to be heard.
These dungeons of silence filled with torment and anguish
Won’t hold me for long.

I refuse to bow down as I once did.
I refuse to be smothered by the sinister being that seems to inhabit the body of a seventeen-year-old girl.
I refuse to be dominated by the evil that is projected onto me.
I refuse to be driven back down those dark paths I know too well.
I refuse to be silenced yet again.
I refuse to be stifled.
I refuse.

You can rob me of my “friends”,
The love I once held for life,
My confidence,
My spark,
My sanity.
You can rip away everything I have
But you cannot rob me of my voice.

For my voice may be hoarse,
And my pleas may be raspy
But nonetheless,
They will be heard.