Grateful

I talk about my pain openly. I talk about my experience I tell my stories with meaning Every story I tell Has the same response. "be grateful." Be grateful, words I hated. I was always grateful And polite And silent But I have changed Now I am always honest And true And loud. I am grateful For my aunt who took me in After my life fell apart I am grateful For the friends who stayed And those who were there At the start. But I am not grateful For my parents mistreatment And neglect I am not grateful For being the doormat To everyone I knew I am not grateful For what I went through As a scared, defenseless child. However I am proud. Proud to have survived it And tell my story Being grateful does not mean Staying silent.