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Not Who I Am
My trauma does not define me,
From the bonds of trauma I am free.
It may be a part of me but not who I am.
Who am I? A fiery Durham woman, that's who I am.
Like a Phoenix, I've been reborn from ashes,
From the same fiery flames I crashed in.
You crash and burn then rise and shine,
Never staying down, that's life's design.
I was overcome with trauma for years,
Reliving it over and over through the tears.
At one point it did define me, defined who I was,
It dug in deep and held on with it's claws.
It hid me from the world and kept me weary,
No matter how much I slept I was always dreary.
I found it hard, with situations, to cope,
I was drained of any and all hope.
I was in shock, I was in denial, I was broken.
I knew how I felt regardless of words spoken.
I hid my pain, denial and shock very well,
My happiness was a product I meant to sell.
Many bought my happiness and believed it to be true,
A wondertul actress to fool so many, although blue.
Slowly, getting better and better, I began to crawl,
Merely bent, I got back up not broken after all.
From the ashes, I have risen,
No longer in that prison.
A prison not of my making,
But I did rise shaking
My trauma no longer defines me,
From the bonds of trauma I am free
It may be a part of me but not who I am
Who am I? A firey Durham woman,
that's who I am
