They looked at her

in sorrow and sympathy,

telling her that she had

suffered

too many losses.

She took their hands,

smiling

as she claimed her 

experiences

of greater lessons.

They offered her  comfort

for her failures

casting blame in every

direction,

telling her it was not

her fault.

She admonished them

for the insult,

accepting every mistake

in judgement 

with pride,

knowing that she had fallen

more times 

than anyone else in 

the room,

explaining quite gently

that failure always came

with the risk

of trying.

She thanked them

for noticing her courage,

her commitment to continue

crashing

and burning

until she succeeded.

There were those

who mocked her and she

welcomed the pain

that fueled her 

journey,

and to them she gave 

nothing,

knowing she would not

allow them

to keep her from 

loving or living

with her heart wide open.

They could not stop

her laughter

her writing or

her trying.

So she continued

to fall

many times over

to prove

that their damage

could not stop her,

she refused to give them

that power,

and she would whisper

to herself

every morning as the sun

would rise…

“I am 

who I say

I am”.