"do you understand the violence it took to become this gentle?"

-nitya prakash

i fought my way out.
kicked and shoved
and clawed 
at my walls
brick by brick
until my fingernails
bled.

screamed and cried
and pleaded
with God
until my vocal cords 
broke
because i finally understood
this had one of two 
outcomes.

we are our traumas, personified.

you either become
the same pain that
shaped you,
or do everything you can
to turn into
their antithesis.

do you realize the war it takes
to stay this gentle?

ttyl.