# 27
**27**\
*I used to think that day was just a far off dream for me*\
*Dreading when I wake because I can't see past next week*\
*"What's the point of living if I'm just living a lie?"*\
*Those echoes in my memory are far away tonight*

**27**\
*I used to think that I was all alone feeling this pain*\
*Using words and writing poems to keep up the pace*\
*Whisper reassurances to myself to feel safe*\
*Hugging pillows tightly as I'm drifting in this space*

**27**\
*Now the railing that I'm safely behind keeps me sane*\
*I'm not quite the black rose that I pricked, but just the same*\
*I still can't see past next week, but maybe that's okay*\
*Maybe in this case my age was not an early grave*

**27**\
*Now I use a new name and I wear a different face*\
*But I'm still the same girl even if I'm less afraid*\
*Back then I sat on sidelines to watch everyone else live*\
*And now, for once, it's my turn, I've got something new to give*

**27**\
*I don't need to tell myself that I'm not worth living*\
*I don't need to hold onto my reassurances*\
*I don't need to feel like if I left no one would care*\
*I've made it this far and now I'm letting myself live*

**27**\
*I'm doing my best and I know that's all I can do* \
*I know it's enough and I know you will see it, too*\
*This life is so precious and that's why, now, I can say* \
*I'm glad that I know that I'll be turning 28*

*There's no big ending, no big rhyme to close off this chapter* \
*I'm not ending anything with a bang or a whimper* \
*Just acknowledging what I've now firmly put behind me* 

This is how it ends \
This is how it starts \
I deserve it.