Who Am I

I am an ugly duckling in a world of unblemished snowy swans Whose long necks only serve to further the height from which they look down upon me. They have picked me clean of feathers, and I am ashamed of the scarred carcass beneath. I am a toy, forgotten at the bottom of the toy box. Once my only joy was in making others smile, laugh, learn . . . Until they learned there were newer and better toys than me. I am a lush, garden pool in the desert Beckoning with the appearance of bounty and water But only a mirage that, upon closer inspection, is dry and barren, having been sucked dry by previous travelers. But, I am a woman. A wife. A mother. I am planted in the soil of my determination, fed from the light of women who came before. My body has been ripped apart by the same force that gives it the will to live. I can part the clouds with a whisper, or call forth chaos with a scream. But I choose to rule my kingdom with laughter, love, and loyalty. Because my legacy will not be defined by anything but the fruit of this, my soul.