Still Fighting - NEW POEM

Good morning, Everybody:

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Still Fighting

My life is what I made it
It no longer makes me
Please don’t mistake me
Despite the close calls and pitfalls
Refuse to let the bad times break me
Much less, shake me
I’ve gotta "bend but don’t break" spirit
I no longer fear it
Flexible and able to adapt
I now know how to counteract
The times when my heart gets tested
My foes think they have me bested
Not knowing the worth of my sweat
Not to mention the blood and tears I've invested

To bring it all into full circle
Preparing to square off against adversaries
Those who aim to hurt you
Perpetrating to be very scary
But really scared within themselves
Creating internal conflict
They don’t want any conflict
At least with the likes of me
Little regard as to who's liking me
Since my "friends" of the past betrayed
Calling to bring out the fight in me
Trying to put out the light in me
But I continue and press
With only myself to impress
Singularly I raise the bar
With only myself to address

And so I know that I’ve slipped up
My warrior’s armor is chipped up
But I’m still standing strong
Still holding on
Dreams and hopes still held in firm grip
I refuse to let go
My net worth is on the horizon
And there’s no telling if I’m the next to blow
And those who have survived time’s test would know
If the first knockout in life was the be all and end all
Then I’m going out swinging
Never throwing in the towel, even if I then fall

-W.A. Gordon