Forever Altered

Forever altered, I can’t forget that night,
Consuming aching years gone by, yet there's
no end in sight.

Hate, a passion, Vengeance, the Lord says is mine.
So how do you let it go when the memory fills
the mind?

Naïve, yes, but I was guilty of no crime.
Shattered into pieces with no reason,
with no rhyme.

I know terror paralyzed all but my will to live.
Years went by too slowly before I spoke the
word “forgive”

They took so much from me, but I won’t
give them more. My best friend, “Hate”
consumed me too, so I walked him to the door.

I know that I was raped once, survived and paid
a price. But time turned out to prove, you’re
not raped once, no, it’s twice.

The first time seemed over, yet the second
lived in my mind. And though I’d never
want this fate, I learned I was so blind.

I twisted all that blame ‘til I saw only
my mistakes, Finally learning, just to
survive, you’ll do what it takes.

So yes, I was forever altered by a
real-life nightmare, I did what I had
to do and I thank God that I’m still here.