Who Am I?

I am the baby
Strangled in her crib
Death interrupted
Sentenced to live

I am the toddler
Learning to walk
First steps ignored
Never bothered to talk

I am the child
Shipped overseas
From burden to gift
Yet I never did see

I am the teenager
Lacking the strength
To prevent the assault
To provide my defense


I am the student
Thirsty but proud
Knowledge is nourishment
Funds didn't allow


I am the young woman
Who looked like a girl
Found strength in solitude
And hid from the world

I am the battered woman
Body painted with bruises
Running again and again
Forever falling for their ruses

I am the soldier
Who left before the war
Heart broken open
Couldn't make the tour

I am the stripper
Who danced to escape
Body on display
Guess I was asking for rape

I am the prisoner
Caged many different ways
The love in my heart
Guided me through the dark days

I am the wife
Had but not held
Too lost to be found
In silence, marriage drowned

Still

I am the baby
Who yet survived
I am the toddler
Who came to arrive

I am the child
Who enjoyed easy days
I am the teenager
Who teachers would praise

I am the student
Professors begged not to go
I am the young woman
Incredible people came to know

I am the battered woman
Whose beatings are in the past
I am the soldier
Who could always outlast

I am the stripper
Whose dance was her art
I am the prisoner
Who was free from the start

And

I am the woman
Who shook the skies
And caused the earth to shiver
When to this world
I did deliver
Son, daughter, son
As two hearts
Made one
Times three
Each birth
More free

And

I am the woman
Who learned to fly
When the voices inside
Would not subside
And I looked through the eye
Of my beholder
And found
Beauty
And strength
And love
Still abound