- repost...

I learned to fear

and navigate through

terror and violence

I learned to not trust

adults and not believe

they'd all keep me safe

I learned to walk on egg

shells around the twisted

minds my kin battled with

I learned to read well

the mood in a room to

avoid running into harm

I learned to erase myself

so to attract the least

attention in my direction

I learned to be quiet

'cause no one could do

anything anyway

I learned very early

that I wasn't important

to anyone; I didn't matter

I learned to destroy myself

'cause I believed as much

in my worth as they did

I learned to live dead

and away from anything

resembling who I am

In the end though,

I learned to climb out

of the pits of despair

and to stand before you

I learned the words,

how to fend off the pull,

and found I can walk

I learned there's more

to me than what's been

attempted to make of me

I learned it was all wrong

and out of my hands; the guilt

should've never been mine