they tried to crown her
with every label she was not:
they called her failure
when she won every battle,
they called her traitor
when her purpose began to unravel.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
so she crowned herself
with everything she knew she was
her crown was made of courage
when her strength began to flourish,
and her crown was made of grace
when she was ready to finish her race.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
but mostly, she wore it with such humility
because she was filled with great destiny
that not even the enemy
could steal so irreverently.

By Mila Ottavini