Respect by MEJ #StarfishClub #Poetry #Coffeeandachat #WritingCommunity #PoetryCommunity #PoetryHub #PTSD

What is respect?

What is disrespectful?

What is self Respect?

To a man

To a woman

To a child

What does it look like?

For this line was crossed and broken to many times

Respect laid in tiny broken pieces

The tarnished pedestal broken in pieces on where they all once stood

Tears fell but no screams came

Disrespect

Discourteous

The volume control on this negative attraction has now been reset

For my vocal chords are now unsevered

For violations took a stronghold in this demonic cyclone within

The violations of my invisible boundaries

No safe place

All my own personal safety and boundaries usurped

Should respect test the free genuine and open hearted soul

Not just once twice or thrice too many I see

Though shouting down and over me while you all stood up over me this was but one of many violations you pushed on me so many too many.

For this however awful taught me what respect looks like

For respect can break down barriers of stigma and labels

For respect can break down the walls encased around those who have hidden illnesses and seen, race sex

Respect is the mutual integrity to uphold one person to another

Respect in the opposite of above I have found in many more

For I have since learned those who vanquish respect to be one sided i am relieved to learn make up 2% of the overall population

Respect I am told is earned

Yet for me human to human life is never easy and with it can come so much pain so I give you respect for being a survivor like I for we never gave up and

We survived

We are free

We are Empress Warriors

© All rights by the author are reserved MEJ 11/04/2020