"I'm not the whisky you want, I'm the water you need." - Rupi Kaur

The light came through,
Your peaceful smile, in truth.
The surreal was still at bay
But I did not know what my words would convey.

I heard the silence pedal,
I spent the days winning medals
Hoping to protect my heart
By covering it with metal.

I'm trying to explain these walls,
The shields and simple fears,
I hope they don't reflect you away,
But I do not know if you can stay.

I buried myself deep within
Behind this thick armor
My wounds had frozen
As I lay there, I burned the roses.

A little heat was a sweet reminder
Of my burnt past
The loving pleasure and pain
I ran from what would always remain.

So when I glanced at you in disbelief,
It was hard to mutter past my walls,
But you saw past them with your own,
By admitting what I had never known.

The vulnerabilities we touch
Let us know we are loved
They acknowledge our shame
And let us play our game

With a silly smile, I finally got the courage
I finally had the nerve,
To yell past my walls with a whisper,
And ask myself the question...

"Can't I be happy I'm with you?"

.
.
.


In the distance, she whispered

"To let ourselves be seen,
To love with our whole hearts,
To practice gratitude,
To lean into joy.

I am enough." - paraphrased from Brené Brown's TED talk.