sunbeams out of the clouds

I woke up one day and realized I am everything you said I would be.
I do not take this as a failure.
You were right.
And you were wrong.
I am the tempestuous storm, unpredictable and untamable
because there is no force on this earth that will stop me from following my path.
I am the wolf in sheep's clothing, vicious and sweet and ready to strike
because my kindness is a choice and my anger is righteous.
I am the well of untapped potential, with every possibility laid out before me,
because your vision of what I could be was painted in my blood,
a lie you sold that I bought for too long and I am finally ready to demand my recompense.
You used these words against me
to keep me in your grasp
as you told me
no one else in the world would ever accept me as the unfinished creature that I am.
But I see now that my rough edges and the dirt beneath my nails are signs of growth
not failure
and I have so much more before me without you here
clouding my future in your bitterness.
No.
You were right.
And you were wrong.
I do not need you to tell me who I am.
I will paint my own vision,
I will splash my own colors across the tapestry of my life in harsh lines and haphazard swirls and
I will never again be someone's property to sell.
I am everything you said I would be
and
I am more than you could have ever imagined.