Found fuel in my anger
and burnt
like a star.
Bright but bitter.
Still,
it was beautiful,
to be cloaked
in fire.
A phoenix
for you to pluck
over and over
until ash,
then flame,
over and over
again,
and again.
Until I ran out,
grew volatile,
beyond control.
Singed you,
a little.
Realised fear,
on your face
when I broke past
your expectations.
Learnt burning
eats you,
from the inside
out.
Word of the Day: Fire
Keep your balance and your wits
grasped tight.
Knot them between your fingers
like purse straps
when the street empties to darkness
and even the lamplight
does little to chase away shadows.
There’s no rescuing dignity
if you spill,
heels caught in the rickets
of this ladder we’ve built
from the bones of those who wept
behind closed doors.
Emotion would prove them woman
and that was weakness,
still is
in the eyes of some.
So the weak gift their spines and prayers,
hollow themselves into armour
for the next generation,
and the one after that,
in a desperation that they will be the drop
that tips the scales to even.
Uncompromising does not mean unbreakable.
Even the strongest machine
has its fragile components.
When they falter or buckle beneath pressure
the whole thing will grind to a halt,
until someone can come and sift through the metal,
down to the root of the problem.
But us, we cannot wait.
There are too many mountains to climb
for us to wait for our broken parts to be repaired
by other people’s hands.
Instead we have to carry them with us
or learn the best way to tape ourselves together
so that we hold just long enough
to make it to the other side
or past that ceiling that keeps the sun from coming in
and us from breaking out.
Uncompromising does not mean unbreakable,
it means we will put ourselves back together,
return to our feet and carry on forward
no matter how many times we are shattered
or forced to the ground.
It means that though you may not be listening,
we will certainly be heard.
Daily Post: Uncompromising
Carol J Forrester 