Victim or Survivor

The world has named me Victim
But I carry only the name Survivor
Everyone has been a Victim
not everyone has taken up the mantel of survivor
To be in the world is be a Victim
We even make people victims of circumstances

I am no Victim
I will not take that title
Many have tried to force me to accept Victim as my status
even those closest too me

I have been beaten
I have been molested
I even lost myself along the way
the who and what, the whole of me
I have been raped
I have been stalked
I have been used and I have been abused
The world says any of these makes me a Victim
I say the totality of these makes me me

The strength of my soul, my spirit
It is thanks to all that, and so much more
Who would I be had it not been for all that? I would not want to know, for she would not be me

The world has named me Victim
But I carry only the name Survivor