By Lynne Curry

I broke…and discovered I could bend. 

The ground beneath my feet crumbled…I was born to fly.

I drowned in fear…and learned to breathe under water.

I fell apart…when I put the pieces together in a new way they mirrored my heart.

I hit bottom…and danced.

Her words cut me…until I learned they described her.

I lost everything…and discovered the freedom in starting over.

Silence swallowed me…until I heard my own voice.

I walked away…and found my way to something much better.

They shut the door…so I built my own house.

I hit the wall…and decided to paint it lavender. I’ve always loved lavender.

Others forgot me…I discovered myself.

*   *   *

Alaska/Washington author Lynne Curry founded “Real-life Writing,” https://bit.ly/45lNbVo (Lynnecurryauthor.com) and publishes a weekly “dear Abby of the workplace” newspaper column and a monthly “Writing from the Cabin” blog, https://bit.ly/3tazJpW. Curry has published seven short stories; three poems; one article on writing craft, and six books, including Navigating Conflict, Managing for Accountability, Beating the Workplace Bully, and Solutions. She posts articles weekly on http://www.workplacecoachblog http://www.workplacecoachblog .