confidence

s/he does not turn the cheek

s/he does not move aside

s/he does not smile to make others feel

comfortable

s/he doesn’t feel the need to illuminate your world

with pleasantries & hopeful metaphors

s/he’s been there, s/he’s not phased by it

s/he’s ecstatic in her/his own skin

s/he’s not afraid to compliment you, not afraid to

size you up, not afraid to cut you down, not afraid

to spit what s/he sees when s/he sees it,

how s/he sees it &

s/he apologizes only to those that have shown her/him

pure, unadulterated

compassion, in times

prior to the present exchange at hand---

with confidence

s/he makes the world a moldable ball of clay,

with confidence

s/he bows down to no one, nothing, never,

with confidence

s/he fulfills her/his own needs as s/he sees fit,

with confidence

s/he creates,

with confidence

s/he destroys &

with confidence

s/he will assert him/herself aloud to life

until that dying day.