I am...her

I am that woman.

I am the one who believes in true, passionate, deep, all-encompassing love and whose heart was shattered to pieces.

I am that woman.

I am the one whose pain is secretly hidden in the countless bodies that cover her skin.

I am that woman.

I am the one whose strength is tied up in a mental illness that cannot be erased.

I am that woman.

I am the one whose secrets haunt her and build a canopy of darkness around her soul.

I am that woman.

I am the one who is stoned in the village square for taking a life, for being the harlot, for becoming the concubine, for destroying another woman's dream, for loving the impossible, for her insanity.

I am that woman.

I offer no explanation, no excuse, no justification.

I will stand tall, fierce, proud and strong while you pelt stones against me for the sins you keep hidden.