Heavy Hearted

​My shoulders always felt
heavier when you were around.
Your words pushed me down
between the sidewalk cracks,
and there I found the straws
of my mothers overworked back –
all stacked together, waiting
to be blown down by the big bad.
 
I found solace in the undertones
of silence as I regaled memories
from my childhood in my mind.
I couldn’t find those darker places
that you swore must exist inside
of me. Never in your life had
you ever met someone who
was born to save the world.
 
I am not afraid of being myself.
I’ve always been happy with
the skin that I’ve grown into,
and I like the way that it feels
to love myself again. I can’t
fix you, but I can always hope
that one day you’ll love yourself
with the same forgiveness.