cries and curses and how to swing back

it's about fighting 
for everything 
you have.
it's about getting
punched
in the mouth
and turning around
with a smile.
it's about
the tired,
heaving feeling
at the base of 
your spine
after
they've pushed you
down
and stepped on your
jaw
and tried to disassemble
you
from the inside
out.
it's all about being
beaten and
torn and 
tried and
tormented.
this is the small 
death that juggles
the bones,
that turns the guts,
that fucks the very
soul of you into perdition.
and how many times
can you
stand back up
on jelly legs
and look them in the eyes
and smile away 
the fear
and continue on
despite yourself?
and how many times can the walls
come tumbling in?
and how many times
can you get kicked in the heart
and still feel?
it's about turning down the vultures 
and rising above
and refusing the easy way,
the easy path,
the easy death.
it's about using the words
to spite them,
to spit in the face of normality,
to remain tired
and broke
and disillusioned
and dire.
it's about taking a punch
and living through it.
it's about taking and punch
and going in for another.
it's about taking a punch
and breaking away the parts
of you that want to cry.
it's all about standing up
when there's no place
to sit down and relax
because you know 
if you do,
you'll never get up again.