SURVIVOR’S DECLARATION

Your facade to the world
was an elaborate show,
hiding the real you,
others didn’t get to know.

The demeaning, the mockery,
your flagrant abuse of power,
family secrets behind closed doors;
you loved to see us cower.

And, for a while, we believed
that the problem was us,
the way you would threaten,
withhold love, and fuss.

But truth has a way
of clearing the fog from one’s eyes.
Courage sets in,
and you find strength to rise.

And because you’re now gone;
there seems nothing more to say,
except, “The brokenness you left,
it won’t stand in our way!”

You see, your tragic conclusion
is not the end of our story.
We will rise again,
and we will give God the glory!