I was broken and I wrote and

I was broken and

I wrote and

I was pathetic about it, and

I whined, sniffed, groveled and

self-pitied my way to the last full-stop and

when it was done,

I found I had the stamina to keep going and

to want to live.

Nothing about my life changed, but

I had allowed myself to strip naked

in front of a mirror and

gave myself permission to stare, and

hate myself and

accept myself and

judge myself and

decide to love myself through it, not

in spite of it and

that made all the difference.

-Akotowaa