when she rose,
it was slow,
gradual
like she was scared of rising.

when she rose,
it was like a new dawn
breaking through the horizon,
shattering the absolute darkness
that had been the night.

when she rose,
she did so mercilessly,
unapologetically,
more radiant and golden than any Sun
in any galaxy.

when she rose,
she ignored those who had sworn loyalty
and given her another broken eternity.
her friends-who-were-not faded away
like they had always wanted her to.

when she rose,
the sky filled with thunder
and the air lightning
and the ground and her bones ignited
and she was power,
a force of nature,
in all the ways that she never had been.

when she rose,
when she finally rose
from that brutal happenstance
that had caused her to fall,
she was crafted from iron and sunlight,
unyielding and burning.
there were no dreams,
only the promise of something good.

when she rose,
she did so triumphantly.
thunder crackled in her ears,
and so did the words
that repeated
endlessly
hopefully:

"you are worthy"