10:38

I am not a survivor of the selfish
because I pined to be. I didn't crave
the whispers of the small town mind as
I walked among the dead.

I am not living drained, mindless, and
empty because of the holes left in his
head. I've grown only to be the daughter
of a man who was a prisoner
to his own mind.

I am not a mess, case study, disaster,
unstable, or numb drunk. I am not anything
expected.

I am ok, not because I am amazing
or unscathed or unscarred. I learned to
to keep my eyes open. I am ok because
that is all I know how to be.

*****

I had to write this for an assignment called a "Brag Poem." We had to brag about something that we were proud of. I thought about all the things I had accomplished, and this was the only one that mattered. I have chosen to be ok. I haven't let this destroy me or used it as an excuse behave any way I like. That wouldn't help me, more importantly that wouldn't help him.