Honoring Resilience

See me
I'm not the girl my father abandoned
Not the child he laid his hands on
I’m not that kid in DFCS custody
I am not the drugs that my mother gave me
I’m not the drunk who whipped my still wobbly legs purple
Or that cocaine addicted newborn facing insurmountable hurdles
I’m not that toddler trembling in Me Maw’s closet
Or the child missing from family composites
I’m not that angry delinquent running scared and tired
Or that poor girl you declined to hire
I’m neither strife, nor pity
And reject your derision
I’m neither rage nor resentment
And don't want your contrition
I’m not a ward of the state ...Or an adjudication date
I'm not the filth in my home
Or my father’s complacent tone
I'm not my mother’s confinement
Or her lack of refinement
I will not be reduced to a label or cause
I will not be defined by dependency laws
I am facility unmeasured
And potential untapped
I will not lay in the corners of your predetermined map
I am not the portrait of premise or presupposition
I will act on my own petition!
Adversity’s frown will never steal my smile
I've walked for ages and lost count of the miles
My past will not pigeonhole my future
I will embrace my survival as success's tutor
My soul has the strength of a thousands seas
It will not be bound by myopic proclivity
I will never accept an expedient version of me