I Will Rise Again, a Poem about How Resilient You Are
Come what may, I will rise again. And you, too. You’re wired to fall and rise back up, always one more time. If you're not sure how you'll do it this time around, read this poem. It'll remind you how resilient you were made to be, how far you've come, how much hope there is.
“… it is his own hurt that gives the measure of his power to heal.” – Carl Jung
I Will Rise Again
Sometimes you have to
Get lost
In order to be found.
You have to fall
To know what it feels like
To rise up another time.
I’ve found
A little bit of
Summer
Tucked away in every
Fall.
Grace—
I think it’s called.
I love the way it feels to
Heal;
How sadly beautiful
That I’d not know this
Feeling
If there were never a
Wound
At all.
I wonder:
Do we get pulled down
So that we might know
The grace of being
Pulled back up again?
The light is eternally
Tangled up
With the darkness.
What if space
Was meant for both?
Every fierce storm
Was once preceded by a
Beautiful sky,
But that doesn’t make the
Storm
Any more bearable;
It doesn’t make the pain
Any easier to climb
Out of.
Just knowing what’s beyond the storm—
What’s above—
Doesn’t make the suffering
Disappear, but it gives me
Hope to try.
Having this hope
Doesn’t make the tears
Any easier not to cry.
I still feel the sting often—
From the tip of my nose
To the world within my eyes.
The sting, and
The hope,
Remain familiar to me;
This is how I fall, and
This is always how I rise.
The darkness and
The light
Seem to be confused—
They do not fight.
The universe fused
Two together
With all its divine might.
Not even uncertainty
Can stop itself from
Being certain;
Not even the
Joy I know today
Could have kept the past from
Hurting.
There’s no need to break the pain,
Because it’s true that the
Rainbow
Would never see the
Light of day
Without a little
Rain
To pave the way.
It feels good to
Stand back up again.
. . .
Tell me:
Which part of this poem did you need to read today?
Tell me in the comments. I read every single one, and I'd love to know.
You will rise. It’s built into your soul and written on your heart. It’s who you are.
With love,
Jen
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Comments on this post (7)
Dear 8th grader: thank you very much! This made my day. Biggest hug to you! x Jen
— Jennifer Healey
Hi Jen Healey!
I am in 8th grade and in my humanities class we had to find a poem that we thought was the best. I chose your poem I Will Rise Again, because I found it beautiful and self preserving. It also connected to me. I have been through some dark times in my life even at such a young age. I read your bio and it says you’re a suicide survivor. I am so sorry for your loss. I once thought I was suicidal. Don’t worry I’m not. It turns out I was scared of being suicidal, so my fear became 10x worse.
Thank you for creating such a beautiful and moving poem.
With love,
8th grader
— 8th grader
It melted my heart..
It built my courage..
It ignited my soul..
It refreshed my peace
— Davies
“there’s no need to break the pain”. its feel like someone tell you that its okay not to be okay
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼
— vincent
I learned a lot from this poem like you gonna reach to a point in life where there is ups and downs but at the end of the day it’s not always gonna be like keep your head straight and don’t let people bring you down just do you.
— Latifah Louis
Thank you, Kakuru, I’m so glad you love this poem. Sending you my love <3
— Jennifer Williamson
I will rise again, it is built into my soul and written on my heart. I have fallen in love with the entire poem. I really had rough time here. God bless you.
— Kakuru Bright