I Have Risen. Thank God Poem by Tony Cemaluk

I have risen.
Thank God.

Not by my power,
Not by my wisdom,
By mercy that does not explain itself.

I fell, they clapped,
I broke, they counted my pieces,
They wrote my burial speech while I was still breathing.

But I have risen.
Thank God.

Risen to shine more than I did,
Risen not to revenge but for more reason to shine,
For the best revenge is too much light.

They expected my grave,
I gave them my glow,
They expected my end,
I gave them a new dawn,
I gave them a new beginning.

Glory, glory be to God,
Not glory to my strength,
Glory to the Hand that lifts when hands clapped at my fall.

I have risen.
Thank God.
Tell those who clapped,
I have risen.