A silent warrior who takes things

                blow by blow

                one hit after another

                never striking back

and is left to clean up the mess.

Each piece left to pick up is part of the fighter

                her creativity and humor

                her big open heart

                her dreams and confidence

are all what people tried to force her to lose.

From where the sharp shards fell are

                 breaks and burns

                 open wounds

                 deep cuts and gashes

which even after being mended are left as scars.

The fighter carefully places each

                piece

                fragment

                shard

back held together with determination and hope.

The warrior presses on through life and its battles

                without a word

                without raising a fist

                without ever striking back

 instead continues to clean the clutter of her character.

Because in reality all those people who ever

                tried to change her

                tried to break her

                tried to defeat her

failed to defeat this hushed warrior.

Despite all the things people have done

                I refuse to quit and give in

                I refuse to fight back

                I refuse to change

because if I do I will become one of them.

So when you see me whether I’m

                smiling and laughing with friends

                kick-boxing in the gym

                wiping the paint from my hands and face

you see who I truly am and will forever be even with my scars.