Beatings...

Knuckles to the gut -
That area right above the belly button -
Left a mark, an impression that of
The fist doing the job of
Knocking the air completely
Out of her being - through
Rejection - over and over
Again and again - these
Beatings that come so
Frequently and yet something
Makes her resilient to the pain -
The repetition - because it teaches
Her to keep going until she has
Perfected the process of not
Giving up, not lying down on
The job of living after the beatings
Of life have completed their
Circuit of whoopings on her
Heart, mind, and soul leaving
Her stronger, calloused in
All the right areas but blinded to
The good that tags along side her
Near the gutter she keeps kicking
It back into so she doesn't have to be
Found in it first.