For almost eight years the poem sat untouched. Six months ago I picked it up again, and what poured out surprised me. It grew into something layered—innocence and crushes alongside fantasy, emotional and physical abuse, and raw self-reflection. Sweet moments and violent ones sit side by side, the way they often do in the lives of survivors. You’ll see the tug-of-war between the girl I wanted to be and the one I was.

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