As the Phoenix we will rise

These scars, as proof of what I have gone through and experienced,
every scar as a symbol of my fight for survival, every scar 
with its own story, its own emotion, its own life, this
is what depression and anxiety has done to me, this
is what happens when your world falls apart
and you no longer can deal with your own emotions, this
is what depression and anxiety does to us, 
leaving white paths on our wrists, road lines 
in different directions, backwards, forwards, 
past and present all combined, filling us up 
with self-hatred and shame, 
because of what we have done to ourselves, 
something we can never take back,
the past on our bodies we are not able to erase, 
even how much we want to
turn back time, undo what can not be undone, 
trying to do the impossible,
attempting to build the world 
we want in one day, 
but remember this:

Rome was not built in one day, Michelangelo used fourteen years 
laying on his back, painting the breathtaking ceiling
in the Sistine Chapel, brick by brick 
we build our temple, 
forming one wall after another, 
until we have the fundament, walls meeting, 
doors and windows, roof in place, 
a dream which is no longer just inside our minds, 
but starting to evolve before our very eyes, 
a change, a new beginning, just 
as we build our temple, we build our life
and in the process of building 
we might get teared down,

but we, the scions of light
will rise as the Phoenix
from the ashes,

so forgive yourself,
forgive yourself 
for the desicions 
you made,

forgive yourself
for being human,
for all your imperfections
and forgive your scars,

forgive yourself
and let the rays of sun

heal your skin.