Words

Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
This is what I remember saying as a kid.
The question is - was it ever true?
I think words have always hurt me.
I think I would rather be beaten with sticks and have stones thrown at me than have words used to hurt me.
Physical wounds heal.
The emotional scars on my soul left by the words of those who care for me are so painful. 
How can you use such harsh words when you truly love someone?
How can I recover from the wounds your words have left?
I feel like something inside of me is broken.
It feels like I am holding all of my pieces together with every ounce of strength I have and then your words like Thor's hammer shatter my pieces all over again.
Words can be used to convey so much joy and yet they can also tear into a soul like claws gouging into my flesh. 
Claws ripping apart flesh, tearing into the muscles and blood just gushing out in a seemingly unstoppable stream. 
Wounds so deep that no matter how well I try to fix it on my own I just can't.
At some point do I just give up? 
Accept that people will keep tearing me down no matter how many times I pick myself back up.
Do I lash out in anger and use my words to rip into their flesh?
Do I sink to the level of someone who blindly or worse yet purposely injures others?
Do I let myself be destroyed by labels and judgements? 
No! I stand up tall and I fight back the best I know how.
I don't attack someone else, that will never heal me, I just simply tell them they are wrong.
And then I never let someone else in like that again.
I shut down and try to find a safe place where I can start again.