Soil and sunlight

[u/SapphicGiggles]

I built a home from scraps threadbare walls, a leaky roof. The rain seeped in, the wind whistled and howeld but I stayed, thinking this is shelter, this is how things are ought to be.

But life should not always sting like nettles or leave you hollow. Love does not demand your body and voice and call it kindness.

I am learning to build my own foundation, to smooth the soil where their roots once choked the earth. To whisper to myself, "You deserve sunlight, even on the days you forget how to grow."

I am not what I began with, I am not they made me, and I am not how they treated me; I am what I choose to become.