She Earned Her Dues

She rides the tides of societal norm like a broke-back mountain,

She may be broken but she’s authentic, incredibly real,

Times have seen her trampled, downtrodden, all in the name of love,

With absolutely no regards for how it made her feel,

Until strength and resilience was all she could succumb too,

Her traumatic ending never a possibility to freely steal.

******

She swims the crest of falsities, sniffing out the untruths,

Rising to surf her emotions as reality sets upon her face,

The day may be done, but it’s in the darkest hours that she works her magic,

In the quietude where she gives her wisdom its necessary space,

Works through the tangled webs weaved throughout the day,

Sifting the heartache and misplaced dreams at a more familiar pace.

******

Once her mission has been completed, she rests upon her back, peacefully,

Wise from the years of torment and torture; tried and tested by the river of tears,

She learned her cryptic lessons while constantly overthinking each valuable point,

Forced to battle in solitude, forced to stand tall and face every one of her fears,

Until her skin grew to a thickness as tough as steel, as sharp as ice,

To ward the knives settling in her back as her residual pain slowly clears.

******

There are those that feel she is consistently angry, when it’s her truth she speaks,

For her femininity will not, can not ever surrender,

Not to the masculinity heavily wounded with no interest in healing,

Not in the waywardness of the truth she seeks; unraveling into her greatest defender,

Distancing herself subconsciously from the destructive cruelty and disrespect,

Applauding her heart’s gift of ripping off the mask of any poorly scripted pretender.

******

The ripple effect of the loyalty that has choked her future trembles,

Souring from the effort of riding shoulders that no longer sag,

Eyes that see behind the veil of drama, the age old dependency seeking attention,

There’ll be a take-no-enemies mentality instead of a white flag,

She now knows her worth and won’t settle for anything less,

Losing and misplacing all who can no longer afford her price tag.