For You, The Survivor

My darling,
Be gentle with yourself.
Your hurts are already bruising,
You do not need to draw blood.

Offer yourself the kindness
You have been saving for others;
Know that you are built
For tenderness;
You are not a stone-walled fort
To withstand a siege of swords;
You are not a deep ravine
With no way out.

My darling, love yourself.
Offer yourself unto yourself
In the temple of your spirit;
You are your own redeemer.
Do not forget the depths of the soul
And that all the answers
Are a garden growing in yours.
Know you are a warm being
And that sooner or later we,
Like moths to a flame, will all
Be drawn into your orbit;

My darling,
Know that you are loved
And that even the universe has
Spent fourteen billion years
Waiting to meet you;
Do not grieve over goodbyes
Because it is a blessing
Simply to have known you -
You, who like a small candle
Have given meaning,
However brief, to the lives
Of others;

Know that though you are strong
You were not made invulnerable;
You are not a fortress, so
Hold fast against the storms and
Dig your heels into the ground.
When it is over gather yourself
And clean out the cuts;
Know your first-aid and administer it.
Know that you have done it before
And that you can do it again, my darling;
Know that you cry because you are alive
And that it tastes so damn sweet
When you can finally face yourself
And say the words: ‘I love you, I love you,
I love you.’

From undivineintervention