We come from a family of suck-it-ups
Thriving in the dark of our lives because trauma is meant for the weak
It doesn’t exist if we eat our sorrows like chicken bones
Fortifying our demons so they can stay where they’re at
out of sight but in our mind.
Toxic behavior is easier to pick up than the pieces
Pieces heavy with generations upon generations of screaming
so when my sister asks me why she’s so angry
I tell her it’s normal.
Anger is what cauterizes our wounds
it is only painful because we are wound
And I’m afraid that if I’m not burning alive
I’m bleeding out.
Isioma West 