I am broken bones and scraped knuckles
……..bruised knees and black eyes
……..cut up arms and twisted ankles
……..tear-stained cheeks and shaking hands
……..screaming lungs and pounding heart
……..constantly healing but continually fighting

Looking in the mirror
I watch bruises fade and swirl
On a face I barely recognize
I tell myself
Keep fighting, keep going
But everything hurts

I am bruised jaw and sprained wrists
……..broken ribs and scratched shins
……..sore muscles and cracked fingers
……..raw throat and wide eyes
……..heaving chest and cotton stuffed head
……..somehow still healing even as I still am fighting

Rachel Waring recently graduated from Christopher Newport University where she studied Communications, Religious Studies, and Women’s Studies. She writes poetry in the time between working and Harry Potter marathons. She spends too much time talking to herself and thinking in metaphor, but when it ends up in poetry, it’s all okay.