Writing a Decade
15 years ago, I would never have believed it
10 years ago, 5 years ago, I just met you
you had been angry
drinking at bars, alone
fighting, crying, calling at 2 am
slept with a gun at night
were spilling pills, powders
couldn’t leave your house, wouldn’t answer your phone
you were pacing, shouting, distrustful, resentful
we sat together
talked, wrote, cried, yelled, laughed
fought, stood up, found we had voices, used them
learned to look up, look around
learned to lean on each other
set our feet more firmly on the ground
your body is no longer something to punish shedding habits you learned long ago
you take it outside, go fishing
stretch, do yoga, dance, run, strum
fill it with nutrients instead of chemicals
you have a vision now, focus, purpose, confidence
we’ve been walking together for years
still digesting the mess
molding it into more
I see you loving
I see you struggling
I see you smiling
still crying and trying
see you putting yourself together
I see you speaking up, I see you growing
I see you getting stronger, smarter
readjusting, recalibrating
I see we all have more work left to do
we’ll keep walking together
learning, trying, helping, growing
cheering each other on along the way
