These should not be forgotten years
The hardest years, the wildest years, the desperate and divided years
We will remember, these should not be forgotten years"
Forgotten Years by Midnight Oil (!990)
Have never thought
Of myself
As being brave
Or courageous
Like others
Have told me.
Rather
Someone
Who is struggling
To understand themselves
And how society see
Them.
Have spent
Most of my life
In hiding.
Running
From a violent past
On various fronts
In my life.
Many ways
I feel like
That 7 year old child
Who fled home
On her bike.
Crying
As the village boys
Threatened her
With shunning
And violence.
In wanting
To be
Wonder Woman.
While
Playing super heroes.
Only
To reemerge
Twenty-eight years later
As an adult.
Forced
To fight
A brutal war
On several levels
For my very survival
Over the past 11+ years.
As a person
With true value
And meaning.
Where
Every milestone is
A victory
Over the darkness
In my life.
Therisa © 2016
Author's note: Today (Monday, September 12, 2016), I read about the early death of Alexis Arquette, who died, from complication from AIDS. One of the many daemons that plague my community, like mental illness and self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. May we all find true enlightenment and knowledge, for having people, like Alexis, in our lives. Thank you Alexis.
