I'm Still Here

You tried to take me down
To make me feel like nothing
It made you feel
Like a real big man

And when I cried
You didn't care
You were feeling the power
And it enlarged your tiny sense
Of your own worth
Until you felt like somebody

And when I shrank
You just felt bigger still

You tried to do me in
As if you could feed off my fading energy
Gorging your weakened self esteem
On my pain and shame

But here we are
And I'm not dead - I'm still here
I'm growing stronger yet
Feeding on the power of the One
Who loves us all
Even scared, humiliated me
Even selfish, crazy you

You did not destroy me
Despite all your efforts
No, I'm still here
And you, where are you?

Newton's 3rd Law

Hard-hearted, you call me.

That's what happens when

The volcano of self-protecting anger

Ignites and overflows,

Gushing down and- finding no outlet-

Fills the rib cage,

Superheating that small organ.

When the danger passes

The heart cools down

But it has been tempered by

The need to act and

The impossibility of action.

Hard-hearted, you say?

I am basalt.