Tag: anxiety

You are brave

in the way you climb out of that bed
each morning and dare to face each new day
breathing. Inhale, exhale, repeat. Brave

in the way your dented tin heart keeps
beating in your chest, ignoring the rust and
refusing to stop pumping life through
your unwilling veins. Brave

in the way you insist on taking up space
when the urge to curl up into a knotted ball
of useless paper hits you, hard. You spread out
to make others feel your presence, saying
I’m here. I’m still here. Brave

in the way you don’t hide your scars and
your voice can be heard even when broken and
the wounds aren’t shameful secrets. Instead
you honor your survival with the admittance of
your weaknesses and their brutal beauty. Brave

in the way your soul fears the light and
the dark in equal measure. The light, a bright
unknown happiness. The dark, a seductive
and familiar pain. The fear, a sign you know
what’s necessary versus what’s easy. Brave

in every way. Brave.