You thought the ground was the end of the fall—
that nothing lived beneath rock-bottom,
that darkness was a final language
and silence meant you’d lost it all.
But listen—
even here, your heart is stubborn.
It keeps knocking against your ribs
like a fist on a locked door
that refuses to believe
it won’t be opened.
You have carried storms in your chest,
worn grief like a second skin,
learned how heavy a day can be
when hope forgets your name.
And still—
you woke up.
Do you understand what that means?
It means somewhere inside the wreckage,
a small, unbroken voice
kept whispering,
“Try again.”
Not loudly.
Not bravely.
But enough.
Enough to stand one more time
on shaking legs.
Enough to gather your scattered pieces
and call them still mine.
Enough to breathe
when breathing felt like climbing mountains.
Rock-bottom is not your grave—
it’s your foundation.
It’s where you learn
that strength isn’t loud or shining,
it’s quiet and relentless,
like roots splitting stone
in the dark where no one sees.
So stay.
Stay when it’s hard.
Stay when it aches.
Stay when every part of you
wants to disappear.
Because one day,
you’ll look back at this place—
this broken, heavy, impossible place—
and realize:
It was never the end of you.
It was the place
you refused to end.
Thank-you for reading.
Brenda Marie
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Beautiful. I clicked over. I loved that line near the end (and commented it there).
Thank-you
Words to remember, Brenda. “It was never the end of you.”
Sometime I feel like it was though.
This is a wonderful poem of overcoming difficult situations, Brenda!
Thank-you, Tim.
My pleasure, Brenda. 😍
This is a stunning, deeply resonant poem, Brenda. The way you move from despair to that quiet, stubborn insistence on hope is so powerful—especially the image of the heart knocking like a fist on a locked door that refuses to give up. It’s raw, honest, and ultimately life-giving. Thank you for writing this.🌷🤝
Thank you so much for this thoughtful and generous response. It really means a lot to know that the movement from despair toward hope came through for you—that was the hardest part to put into words. I’m especially glad that image stayed with you; it felt very true while writing it. Your reading of the poem as “life-giving” is deeply encouraging. I’m grateful you took the time to share this. 🌷🤝
You are welcome Brenda 🌷🤝