Look at yourself, love
Look at yourself and admire what you’ve become
Do you not see the endless fire flickering–relentlessly,
In the windows of what once you thought was empty.
Do you not see the very depth of that lingering soul?
Fighting, marching, standing. All behind that barricaded window of yours.
Take a good and longing look,
Welcome the art you’ve sought to be–the tainted and the refined.

Look at yourself, so beautiful and so strong–so magnificent
Like Atlas, you’ve been tasked to bare the weight of the world
And yet, here you are, the outcome of what even Zeus couldn’t conquer.
Look at you, you’ve been dragged to hell and back;
Picked apart like a poet’s disguised words laid out on display
Taking the brunt of it all time and time again but you must know,
That truly, there is nothing more alluring than a display of courage.

You and me and me and you.
Are we not the same?
Do we not live each day fighting for the next and surviving from the last?
Simply like words cascading down the page–almost like a poem
The truth presents itself right before us,
Because really, the naked truth of it all is:
Resilience is indomitable. And so are you.

About the Poet 

Chelsie Alcantara is a Grade 11 student from Pristine Private School.

Chelsie is an avid reader from a very young age, she has been exposed to writing styles from various time periods. She is especially fond of modern literature. She was inspired to write this poem to celebrate the strife and struggles people go through in their lives and yet achieving their dreams despite all odds. She hopes that with this composition many are able relate and gain inspiration to persevere through various hurdles and obstacles, ultimately emerging victorious in the end.