The weight of reality sits on my chest and I feel myself struggling to breathe.

I thought when I walked away I could finally breathe easy but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

In some ways I’m finally free but in so many others I’m more trapped than I ever was.

The system continue to fail women like me.

Do I stand up and hold my ground, or do I take the beating that I’ve become so familiar with?

I’ve created this new life where I can finally be me, free from the shackles you bound to me.

But here I stand wondering; did I ever truly break free?