02/04/2021
Survivor Collaboration 🙂
*TRIGGER WARNING*
*SEASONS OF HEALING*
Written April 2018 (Revised February 2021)
By Melanie Sachs
Survivor (More Than Her Story)
Advocate, Blogger, Speaker Writer, Poet. PAVE Survivor Support and Social Media Assistant.
“Sometimes, it comes back.
It’s Vivid Like Yesterday’s Sun.
But in reality – it’s DARKER,
DARKER than storm clouds on a rainy day.
It BURNS hotter than a summer sun.
It HURTS more than falling hail hitting your skin like bullets.
And at times, it is so much LOUDER than the CRACK of a tree branch, or the RUMBLE of thunder, or the BURSTING or fireworks.
IT IS MY TRUTH.
But, I can’t let it define me. I WON’T.
I survived. I am strong. I am a voice for others.
It’s been over 17 years.
Time passes as slow as leaves falling from a tree during the fall, but as fast as lightning strikes during an unexpected storm at the same time.
2002 I was 9 or 10 years old, no timeline.
Their hands touched me like fire more than once. BURNING HOT. Unwanted.
2004. I WAS 12 YEARS OLD. I remember everything.
It was a warm spring day, but a COLD reality.
His hands touched me like fire. BURNING HOT. Unwanted. Fingers and Tounge; Inside me , all over me. His body, 5 years older than mine; overpowering.
THE TREES ABOVE WERE MY SOLACE. I SURVIVED IN THE MIDST OF THEIR LEAVES, TRUNKS, AND BRANCHES.
2006: Speak justice into healing. A small conviction but my voice and my God was louder and healed me more than any sentence.
Waves of healing - peaks and valleys ; but hope lingers no matter what.
Don't let your dreams be just dreams, or gone with the wind, I didn't. Trust.
2021, the sun shines so often now.
I cannot get lost among the clouds and storms.
So much has changed – like the seasons.
The seasons of healing.
Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall”.
Image by Jason (Survivor Support Committee). 🌳 ✍🏻
