Once I was frightened Felt battered and torn My heart strings were taught All weathered and worn Trying hard not to feel So you couldn't see in Getting past my defences Was not the worst of your sin You tried to break me But I wouldn't give in So you felt you could hurt me By taunt and by grin I saw through my anguish Knew it wasn't to last So I hid where I could Til your rage had all passed I couldn't escape you I didn't know how So my mind set me free And let me forget That your rage was not reason And hope was then set in A small frightened part of me That you never would find The hope and the feelings I felt in my mind I never did find out Why I was your victim But time heals all wounds And I learned to evict All that pain that you caused me I then aimed to survive Through words and through images That lived in my mind So now you are long gone And I have survived I didn't deserve it And I'm still alive With my words and my images Still swelling inside At odd times they burst through And allow me to know That I'm a survivor No matter the blow No one can hurt me I just won't allow it I won't bottle it up Nor can I disavow it I don't need to its true You see I'm a survivor And I'm not Scared of You. .................. This year, my New Year's resolution is to purge ghosts and this I thought would be a good start. This was my contest entry for the RIM last year that earned me runner up. Comments more than welcome.