I am me

I beseech you, I plead, I ask for forgiveness

but do I need it? Do I need to repent?

My actions are my own, not yours

you swore to love me, only to tear me to trash.

I can only be the woman that I am

Vibrant and alive, and I need to learn how to trust

that others will see the skin I wear

the heart that beats, enveloping all

while you still step away.

Once I cared but now I do not

I own who I am; I own myself

I no longer search or need to see

another’s response to me.

©Jay-lyn Doerksen

May 3/17