Cactus

Standing desolate, isolated, my trials I take on
My environment so dry no contributions to my well-being
No longer do I cry from thirst
Beyond my grasp is the sky
Dormant, no rain
To steal this pain

I was always thirsty for support
My family, prefers to solely thwart
Growth and life for me
My kin doesn’t wish me to be free
Progress they love to halt
Pensively, solo, I finally realized
Their absent love,
Truly isn’t my fault

My outermost layers offer pain
Too many times I believed in nurture vs. nature
Presently a shell with spines
Dig deeper you find my innermost qualities
So brilliant my resilience shines
Water I preserve, essential for my life
Regardless of this endless strife

To live free
Exactly how I want to be
Gradually I’d start to see
No benefit from dwelling on scrapes and scars
Holding onto that pain will solely provide one thing
In front of my life I will only see bars
Feeling nothing more than restrained
This solo act has plenty to gain

Healthy, and peaceful is my ideal climate
You perceive this lonely life improperly
My roots are here
It’s time to lose all this fear
Shine on and reside
Year after year

Make no mistake
This task is anything but easy
Scorching heat throughout my days
Patiently waiting for those moments it becomes breezy
I am not a complicated individual
Buried deep beneath all this is a soul

Simple, that’s where true pleasure and growth come from
A light rain shower for me to absorb the essence
The sun’s rays enveloping my entire form
Following these pleasant necessary happenings
Always is a storm
My meaning being more trials and tribulations
Whatever form they are presented

I will stable and defend my home
You judge me before my true self is even known
Try step on me, push me down
Further into the ground
For a small time perhaps I’ll reside there bleeding

However, in the end I will pick myself back up
There’ll be dust and confusion
Just know your vicious actions
Provide the methods I’m using
Something like me doesn’t form overnight
There’s a process, slow, but one must be patient
Truly finding my inner peace was not rapid
Through experience it was earned

I will never doubt my life is a gift
Many influences try to deter me so swift
An individual abstract of some form
Your heat does not possess anything warm
Doubtful, spiteful, judgmental are your thoughts
Uninvited you will be and this is sworn




Gracious for this past I call my own
Confused from my birth
Learning to create my zone
Finally separating myself from your dry offers
Was the day I knew I would be okay
There is nothing left for me to say
Other than when the sun rises I will bask in it’s glory
For I have let go of my fear and embrace my story.