You made me

They bind me,

Define me,

Raise me,

No one else can faze me,

The only opinion that matters is theirs.

A world of hatred, unending criticism,

All the dark words, poisonous,

Like acid it sears my skin,

It eats at me; blistering my heart and my soul,

I close my eyes to it.

It shouldn’t have as harsh an effect,

And still, I feel it,

Liquid fire in my heart, it boils so,

But, no sooner than when the burns began,

They recede.

Behind my lids, a bright world I see,

The noxious, villainous judgment dissipates into the air,

Their soothing voices I hear,

They comfort and heal me,

Suddenly, the burning stops completely.

When I seemingly look to see what has happened,

In plated steel armor I stand,

Upon further inspection I see,

The kind words of their love,

Their support,

It is etched on the armor.

I open my eyes now,

I see people, only ordinary people,

Yet not,

Disgust and hate brimming from their eyes,

Darkness hangs over them, a phantom of sorts,

It sways to the sounds of whispers amongst the crowd,

Is it in so ill taste to be different?

The ones that love me don’t think so,

They encourage me to be different,

And therefore, I am,

I strive to be open minded,

I want to do new things, and inspire others.

They made me kind,

They made me strong,

They made me loyal,

They made me honest,

I am smart, by learning from them,

As are they from learning from me,

Our support of one another,

It binds us ever closer.

I will succeed,

I will not fall to such a foe,

It is for the ones I love, I will strive through this,

I look at my arms again,

I can see my family’s kind words,

They traverse my veins,

I am strong because they made me so,

I will not disappoint them.

With each ongoing sentence,

Each valid argument,

I see the opposition fade,

The phantom shrivels,

Its ebony claws reach, shriveling slowly,

A silent scream as it fades into the floor.

A small applause fills the auditorium,

My heartbeat slows, and eventually evens out,

I step outside and take a deep breath,

Crisp autumn air graces my lungs,

I say a silent thank you and prayer,

For the ones I can’t live without,

My Family.