You Are Not

You are not your turbulent emotions

The tears that rage uncontrolled

Not the quivering of your tender lips

Or broken, bitter words that spill forth

Your heartbreaks do not define

The innocence of your hopes

They are the bricks that lay

The foundation of what you will become some day

You are the innate strength that rises

Over the ashes of many ruins

You are not the rosiness of your cheeks

The suppleness of your youth, curve of your hips

A mute puppet in someone's hands

A naive object of idle temptation

Servile to the needs of the world

You are more than your alluring grace

The beauty of your character

Your grit is your true power

You are the flame that burns

The woman that lives life on her terms

Not fragile glass or shattered dreams

Not false pride or inflated ego

Not compromises or sacrifices, or shallow prejudices

You have to blossom into a lovely flower

That doesn't wilt at every harsh breeze

Does not wither over every drizzle

Seasons change and reasons change

The lessons are still the same

You are the calm that can weather every storm

If only you learn to believe

Let no one guide your choice

Shrug off the baggage of expectations

Fear of loneliness and scrutiny

You hold everything within you

Dare to choose, to walk alone

To value yourself above all else

You are not your flaws or mistakes

Not your errant waywardness

You are your wild, untamed hair

Unbridled laughter carried by the breeze

The firm, confident voice

That has risen above failures

Your shoulders are strong enough to bear

The reproofs of the world

Walk, stumble, pick yourself up

And march along to the tune of your heart

Your one life is not a compromise

On the altar of someone's beliefs

You were born free, wild, unique

Let nothing kill that spirit in your soul