These Women

I want to say it plainly.

No metaphors. No similes.

I want to praise my friends.

I want to tell the world how they save me.

A man I loved betrayed me.

He shared private details and

laughed about me with his friends.

He told another woman I meant nothing.

I was devastated.

I was heartbroken.

There are women who made me stand back up.

They shared their truths about me.

They tell me I am worthy.

They tell me I am beautiful.

They tell me I am enough.

They tell me I am not too much.

They hold me when I cry.

They smile when I laugh.

They make me stand back up!

I want the world to know who they are:

Calliope, Phoenix, Claudia, Diana, Karen, Lisa.

They are my superheroes.

They are my guardian angels.

They protect me.

They lift me when I cannot lift myself.

I want to honor them.

I want to praise them.

But my words feel so small,

weak, insufficient, insignificant.

I say them anyway because they are all I have.

Because of these women:

I am standing.

I am not alone.

I am getting stronger.

I am still breathing.

My heart is still beating.