I Can Take It

Spit it out.

Don't cover it up.

Don't coat it in sugar,

I am tough.
I can take it.

This soul has been 

through the ringer

twenty times over 

and LIVED to tell the tale.

I've been battered

and bruised.

Used & abused,

downhearted,

downtrodden,

scraped,

even lacerated,
I've nearly bled out.

I can take it.

I'm sick of seeming

fragile.

Don't get me wrong,

I am gentle,

On occasion.

I've even been called

sweet.

I'm not coarse,

just weathered.

My point is this:

There is 

NOTHING

you can tell me 

that will be 

too much for me

to handle.

I can take it.

I'm tough. 

I'm...grown-up-stuff.

(Poem inspired by the following image.)

Where Do I Even Start

Sister:
Noun;
a female who has one or both parents in common with another.

I was nearly four
when you were announced.
"You're gonna be a big sister!"
I was excited,
(because everyone else was)
but confused.
You see,
I had no idea what that even meant.

But in a few short months,
I knew.
Oh, I knew.
It's impossible not to.
An entire new human addition to the family?
That's kinda hard to miss.

And you are impossible to ignore.
You have always been
a ray of sun.
The light in the room.
Everyone loves you.
And thus,
we were friends from the start.

Then I gave up half of my room,
and the conflict began.
Mountains of clothing would come and go.
Tears would be shed.
Heartache would be had.
Our bond was impossible to sever,
even by each other.

I gave you your first tattoo
when I stabbed you
in the arm with a Sharpie pen.
I slammed a door-knob-sized hole in the wall.
I have damaged and hurt and destroyed.
And you forgave.
And you forgave.
And you forgave.
Thank you.
I love you for that.

Sister:
Noun;
a girl or woman regarded as a comrade.

We had more in common
than we ever ever knew.
And all of the crap
that we'd been through
seemed only to strengthen us.

I embarrass you,
annoy you,
and even cause you pain.
I know that I'm stupid.
A lot.
When it comes to you,
I always act first
and repent later.
But I can't help it.
Some faces just need to be smashed.
Some of your "friends"
will remain unforgiven,
because making you cry
is an unforgivable crime.
No punishment is enough.
Trust me:
I let them off easy.

You tell me I'm beautiful
when I know that I'm not.
You ask my opinion
when I know that no one really cares what I think.
You tell me what I need to know
not what I want to hear.
You stood up for me
when I was falling apart.
You knew who I really was
when catty girls said otherwise.
You loved me
when I proved to be more imbalanced
than any of us had even guessed.

How do I repay a lifetime of love?
No gift is enough.

Just know, above all
one definition
will always
hold true.

Sister:
I love you.

(Dedicated to Addison Denise Austin, my forever best friend.)