Some days are easy
and some days are exhausting
the days you have to dig through the muck inside
take more hits than a heavyweight prize fighter
cling to life with mud between your fingers
I tend to rip
myself from situations
root first
but uprooted and 
free aren’t the same thing
what is blooming but an
unraveling
the loosening of petals
a joyous movement, a quiet consistency 
an unfolding full of forward momentum
(an aching)
from whole
to empty
and back again

BIO: Elizabeth Gade is a Minnesota based bisexual poet and human trafficking survivor. Writing is her radical way to connect with fellow survivors. Her poems have been published in View Magazine, The Elevation Review, 300 Days Of Sun, Other Worldly Women Press, The Lindenwood Review & more. Elizabeth created LEO Literary Journal, an online journal dedicated to women writers affected by incarceration, human trafficking and/or addiction. www.LeoLiteraryJournal.Weebly.com Connect with her on Instagram @ElizabethGadeThePoet