FIRST, I fOUND MY VOICE

First, I found my voice                      

After seventeen years

After finally breaking free

like a runner breaking tape

I found myself writing

about endurance

and strength

About escaping and standing up

I decided I wanted to help others

to show them the way

to show them the way out

to show them

I had made it

and they could also

I had to take it from brain

to paper

But First I had to find my voice

I told my story

I floated my voice like a cape

on a windswept night

I became the crusader