What Doesn't Kill You

They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, And perhaps, if I go looking, In there, I can find some truth. But what they never tell you is that What doesn’t kill you makes you aware. It makes you bitter, it makes you scared. What doesn’t kill you leaves you in shambles, Knuckles bloody and your face blue. The time it takes to gain the strength Is the time it takes for it to destroy you. Neither are easy, my friend— Neither are fair. It teaches you and wrecks you all the same. What doesn’t kill you leaves you wondering, How did I end up in such a horrid place? And silence is the only thing that follows; The pounding of your heart beneath flesh and bones. And in the rhythmic beat, you can hear it being said Over and over again, like it’s all in your head: What doesn’t kill you makes you aware, What doesn’t kill you makes you bitter, What doesn’t kill you makes scared, What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.