'Shrapnel Is Still Better Than Emptiness' by Ravyn LaRue

I know it was much too much of me to expect everything would mend together smoothly
Being back is soothing and soul-cleansing but it certainly isn't perfection
I'm still hung up on the same usual catches I trip over, but it's better than being bound and gagged
But those who are vicious still have viciousness in them
Toxic families are still toxic families since distance isn't as calming as I thought
Though they're still my loved ones and I'm strong enough to know-
Being proclaimed a bitch is just an everyday occurrence
And I know things now that hurt far worse than being hit
So, though being bulletproof and flawless is a fallacy
I know now something that gives me more strength than my slogans before
You can't break that which isn't yours
And so, I stand by it-
The worst Minnesota can throw at me still tops the best Chicago could ever offer
So yeah, one could say I'm stronger than I was last year
And even if I'm back to square one, I'm not a tabula rasa-
I kept my identity despite it all, and I pride myself on that
After all this I'm nearer to fearlessness, though I still have some cause to be afraid
I'll crumble, as always, since I need to, but it's crumbling in comfort
Toxic families are still toxic families
But I have my real beloveds, and with them, I know I have nothing to fear