We all host an inner bully deep inside.

I was my worst enemy

Whoever said words can’t hurt,

Never considered them fathomed from your own tongue.

Adolescence is not kind it feeds off the dramatics

Morose battles of acceptance cupped in insecurities,

Your peers aim to kill and the media profits off your fear.

Solitude was a desolate island rooted in dismay

Thoughts hold weight, heavy on the soul

Of a young anxious girl.

Life between 13 and 21 bear resemblance to centuries,

If I cannot bear the presence of my own, then…

What is love?

Relationships?

Success?

Happiness?

Peace?

Doubt seizes in the midst of self-assurance

I cannot grow with others if I wither in fear.

Food, water, shelter our basic needs since man has walked,

Yet the mind craves far more complex things.

I sit on that island in solitude, it welcomes my embrace

My body bathes in the warmth of self-love

I cannot live without,

I need…

Sense of self wrapped in joy

Adorned in peace,

Draped in love.