Challenge 7

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**Words: Rise, Self, Gate, Talent**

## 1st Position: Prarthana Modi with 5 upvotes

**Until I Broke Free**

They had held me,

For a long while now,

It was time to break free,

But I didn't know how.

I had sunk in the water,

Far too deep,

For anyone to reach.

I had to rise,

But only to fall back?

I had to try,

Before I met my doom.

So, I tried

Again and again,

Until I finally broke free!

Until I finally opened the gate,

That had sealed me in.

I hadn't believed in me,

Hadn't believed in this self,

I thought I couldn't stand back,

I thought I couldn't fight back,

I thought I had no talent.

But I understood it then,

It was not them,

Who had contained me,

It was me who had lost hope.

But now that I regained it,

Now that I knew,

That I am not useless,

That I can help,

That my talent hadn't been wasted.

It wasn't until I broke free,

From the chains,

I had made for me,

It wasn't until I broke free!

## 2nd Position: Chiron66 (Caleb) with 4 upvotes

I think it's time to rise

I don't wanna fight

Rather make a stand

Trying to find my place

I don't accept hate

Even if I live in it

I'm a quite self

At least I am now

Can't seem to let the words out

Trying to open the gates of my mouth

I've got a talent for lying

And I may be shying

Away from everything

But I'm gonna tell the truth

Cause I really just have too

Time to rise

I ain't gonna fight

But I can't take a hit

And I'm too stubborn to die

So I ain't gonna lie

Mom and Dad, I'm actually bi

And I won't apologize

## 3rd Position: Samirah ara & Rishita Kedia both with 3 upvotes

### Samirah ara

Sako walked over to the waterfall, its columns of water rising so high into the sky, she couldn’t see the top. Mist rose from where the water hit the rocks below, billowing up in great plumes. Down bellow waterfall though, it was strangely quiet. The crash and roar of the water, which seemed deafening before, was only a murmur. The rocks were slippery with age old moss and slime. Sako scrambled around, trying to find the ancient rust mess that would have once been The Gate. A firebird screeched suddenly, startling Sako. Her foot slipped and fell into the stagnant water, immediately soaking her leg and chilling it too the bone. Sako scrabbled out quickly, and tried to wipe all the mud off her hands. She sighed, thinking to herself, and closed her eyes. “I’m such a failure. I always get myself into trouble, I seem to have a talent for making a fool of myself. Of course I fall in the water. And now I can’t even find The Gate.” A crock of a gum frog brought her back to reality, and she opened her eyes again. She got up, looking around again. Suddenly she gasped. Right in front of her, some 20 feet away, The Gate stood. The gate hung open at a crooked angle, it’s metal hinges creaking. Moss and lichen had crawled its way up the bars, and various plants and flowers had made the top arch their home. The firebird Sako had heard earlier had made its nest on it, and was perched in it, staring intently at her. Sako stumbled forward, almost in a trance. At last she stood before it, its towering shadow covering her. Finally, she had found it.

### **Rishita Kedia**

I thought I was futile,vain and nugatory

I thought I was incapable,incoherent and unable to be,

My actions were often in the heat of passion,

They had turned me into an unwanted assassin,

But now when I look back, there's nothing left to see,

Cause this self was meant to be,

After all these years, I can proudly state

I've risen above and unlocked the gate

By your grace, I may continue this rise,

Slowly live and end my strife

I promise to you, I promise to them

I promise to a live without condemn

I shall seek my past, and fuel it thorough

This newfound talent, shall help me grow