Rise

Sometimes she feels as if she's alone in her determination.

She wonders if anyone else even knows

the true meaning of the word

like she does,

or if they would tell her

to get up and keep going

if they knew how much

that defense was costing her.

Each day fills her with the heaviness of years,

and each day she is left alone

to fall and rise, fall and rise,

measuring progress only in

obstacles overcome.

She barely half-understands

the unconquerable force

that pushes her and only her along,

tumbling her down a road

filled with rocks and thorny weeds,

for a reason so faint and worn-down

it might as well be nonexistent

except for the imperious rattle and pull of it

deep within the darkness of her chest.