For a time, it was true:
I didn’t want to close my eyes,
I didn’t want to fall asleep;
My elastic heart discovered
How far it could stretch, and
My tired eyes learned to
Stay open despite it.

Today, wiser counsels prevail.
Either that, or I am getting
Old: two decades is
A long time for anyone,
Especially from seventeen.

Now, I understand the need
To take care of myself,
And to value myself
Regardless of how others
Value me.

For someone so definitely
Me, I spent a long while
Allowing others to shape me
To fit the holes in
Their lives, losing edge after
Edge until what little was
Left slipped through all nets.

If I rediscover what I lost,
Can I find my way back
Into the hearts from which
I fell all those years ago?

09/28/2019

Posted on 11/03/2019
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