Unbound
A tale of survival
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Note: This poem explores themes of sexual abuse and recovery. Please prioritize your own safety before reading.
Here she is again today,
lonely in un-lonely ways.
Lost in love and lost in thought,
of things remembered, once forgot.
Of muffled cries and giants breath,
bound by hope and prayers for death;
a lien against her innocence.
Crying out in vain.
Yet, emerging in the now,
a roar that crashes with no sound.
A soul is freed her heart;
It pounds.
With bated breath and wounded soul;
She emerges from the coals.
Forged in fire; forged in flame;
She is found;
Unbound.
©2018 Andrea Curran
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I’ll leave the light on for you! Much Love — Andy
Andrea, this feels carefully held.
What stays with me is how you let survival arrive without spectacle. The restraint matters — the way you protect innocence while still naming what was taken. The emergence is quiet, bodily, and earned.
“Forged in fire” could have tipped into cliché, but here it doesn’t — because the poem stays with breath and presence rather than triumph, and you've done that so well.
Thank you for trusting this piece to be both gentle and strong at the same time.
You show exceptional restraint. A powerful poem.