I have to believe
I have to see
That the future is holding out
All that is good
All that is good for me
I cling and I fall
I swing and after all
I get back up again
Punch me once
Punch me twice
I will – I will overcome.
I have to believe
I have to see
That the future is holding out
All that is good
All that is good for me
I cling and I fall
I swing and after all
I get back up again
Punch me once
Punch me twice
I will – I will overcome.

Strangers have a lot to say
Unkind words thrown straight at me
I felt them fly I felt them fall
Right at my feet and there they lay
I just stood calm and let them come
Surveyed the crumbs across my way
I decided there and then
And one by one
To carefully collect them all
From those words thrown at my face
I weaved myself a crown of
Grace.

A stone emerged from the water
Smooth as silk and brown as the bark of a weathered oak tree
Water rushed by hurriedly to its destination wherever that might be
Tentatively I stepped forward
One little step
And there I was
Right in the midst of the gushing stream
The earth stood its ground behind me
The other side was too far
But right in front of me, another stone emerged
Calm and smooth and offering somewhere to stand
My own stepping
Stone.

I will protect myself
As I would any child or two
I will protect myself
From danger’s harm
From the lion’s den
From the place I find myself
In.
I will protect myself
With my shield of strength.
“Be yourself” I was told
I was being no one else I replied
So I tried and I tried even more
To be less of myself than I could
Oh I tried
It lasted a while, minutes at most
I could be no less of myself
Than the birds in the tree.
Be myself, so I was told.
I will be myself
The best self I can be.

I am wonderful, I am and you?
I wish your day is bright and blue
Filled with butterflies
And dreams come true
I am wonderful! I am, and you?

No more could I do
No more could I bring
I brought the best of me
I gave it my all
No more could I do
It is what it is
My back touches the wall.
A wish for you
A dream for me
I wish my love could be
Higher than the stars above
Whiter than the snow
Deeper than the roaring sea
So my feelings go
Everywhere I look for you
At every point I turn
I see your shining eyes
Looking back at me
I love you now
I love you then
I will always love you
So
I played it safe
I stayed within
The confines of my
Battle lines
I never strayed
Nor looked behind
But onward marched ahead and
Straight
It all blew up, right in my face
My best laid plans laid naked down
It is it was it always will
Force me quiet, force me still.

Simple rope made for the wall
I will braid it for strength
Reinforced with my will.
A simple hope to keep me alive
Infused with my breath
It will help me survive.
I see my fear, I can smell it’s scent.
I will not run I have nowhere to hide
I will work on my rope until
I can use it to climb.