I REFUSE

you have had the chance

to alter my life forever

and so you did with diligence

like a scythe to a flower

you thought you had won

i became a shadow of my past

though parts of me are gone

i am not left downcast

i refuse

to back down

i refuse

to let pity lord over my life

i refuse

to be boxed

never reaching full height

i refuse

to let the world judge me from the outside

Listen--

for with every breath

i learn to live again

for with every twitch

i learn to laugh

for with every painful step

i'm reminded

what being human is all about

i refuse

to admit that i'm a little less

i refuse

to concede that i am second-best

i refuse

to give-up

nor even stop to rest

i refuse

to live without acing the test