No Longer

Things are different now
Hello darkness my old friend
are words I haven't thought about
in what seems like forever
I have a better outlook
My dark days have left me alone
I feel like what I imagine
I felt like as a child
before the dark clouds
swirled overhead
I feel alive and happy with me
No pesky self-conscious attitude
No rejection of compliments
Why yes I am beautiful
Of course I know I'm smart
You think I'm cute thank you

Thank you...
Words I have struggled with
after hearing something good
about me coming from another
I was never thankful for
these things being said aloud
to me to remind me
of the worth I thought
didn't exist
The vocal embodiment
of everything
I feared was not true
and would not listen to
or accept for fear
of being lied to
and being hurt

No longer do I struggle
to accept these things as truth
No longer to I feel like
I'm getting kicked in the gut
when someone in class
tells me I'm smart for
knowing how to solve for x
No longer am I a slave
to the crippling feeling
of not being good enough

I have found my freedom