The Way I Am. {poetry}
If you must know
I will tell you
the decision I made with myself
I’d rather be broken and bloody
than warmed in a realm of just comfort
I want to feel rage, to fall amongst the stars
open and raw
shaking
fire and ice all at once
I’d rather the scars and the burning
than numbing to hide from the fear
I want it to singe the edges of my sanity
Let me die of heartache
and be reborn by the magic of the sea
washed to shore in pieces
but stronger than ever before
I’d rather be broken and bloody
because the marks left behind
will sing of my rebellion
the dirt under my nails can whisper the tale
of how I clawed out of my own grave
and from time to time
I might crack
I might waver
but in my earnest refusal
I will rise
for I was born in the belly of a storm
and I am a child of its carnage
In fact
aren’t we all children of the wreckage?
It is for this reason
I’d rather be broken and bloody
because it is real
and when you are choking on the ashes
you can see the way hope has etched itself into my spine
amidst the tears and gnashing teeth
in between the skewed heart
in that middle place
I have woven myself back together
And you can see
in a brilliant contrast to the darkness
the stitches
you can see my unconquerable soul
I used to be the one laughing with glass shards in my mouth
howling hollow words into the night
and feeding the sickness
the idea that we are porcelain
perfect
unmoved by this world
and I looked out from eyes that refused to see
ate my unsaid words
and gorged myself on fear
It’s funny to think of how starved I was
how I neglected the fruits of truth
So, my dearest ones
my fellow stumblers
that’s what we are
stumbling about through the wreckage
licking our wounds and setting fire to our bones
let us feast together on things of substance
let us rejoice in the trials
we can dance together until we have ground our feet into dust
we can tend to the truths and mistakes
and cry and be broken
we can acknowledge regret and
then lay it to rest and move forward
in our imperfect dance hall.
Let’s each take a seat side by side
join hands
and let ourselves unravel
then stitch ourselves back together again
as one
I’d rather be broken and bloody
with my brothers and sisters alike
be weak and then become strong
sing to the moons
and burn with the sun
and delight in the changes we have begun
As long as I’m here
I’ll be dizzy and lost
searching for the steps to the song
it’s slow and deranged
and I can’t get enough
and I won’t stop until the Earth claims me
I won’t stop until I am one
with the way I truly am.
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Kate Kenney is a twenty-something girl, who is just trying to navigate through this crazy life. She is currently working simultaneously on her first fictional novel and poetry anthology.
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