I’m late in posting this, but here’s an original poem, for #WriterWednesday. While some may think they know who this is about, I think it’s more symbolic than about any one person in particular. Please enjoy!

There Was a Time

There was a time
when I would look up and see
your dark eyes looking down at me
feel our foreheads touch,
and know that everything would be alright.

There was a time
when I would take my calm from your lips,
fluttering anxiety slipping through the crevice
made by the smile your kisses brought to me.

There was a time
I would lean against you,
feeling the warmth of your touch
mingling with the strength of your resolve
and know that nothing could tear me down
because there was you
to build me back up again.

There was a time
when I could still feel your arms around me,
or your large hands
rubbing the ache in the small of my back
while I crumbled
under the weight of my own self doubt
and the trembling shame
from knowing
that I cannot be good enough.

There was a time
when I would close my eyes
and still smell you,
nestled in my memory,
among a pile of regrets
and forgotten book titles
I once hoped to write.

There was a time
when I believed
that your leaving
laid waste to the wall
that I’d built to protect myself,
but in truth,
I had slowly removed it,
on my own,
stone by ice-cold stone
replacing a wall of ice
with the warmth of your embrace
strengthened by the joy
of your kisses upon my brow.

There was a time,
when you left me,
the truth of me,
bare and exposed to the world
as delicate as butterfly wings.

And there was a time,
that I faltered,
flying frightened
and flitting from leaf to leaf
trying to hide from the barrage of guilt
and shame and salty tears.

But in time
I learned to stand on my own.

And this time,
even if my wings become wet,
I know that I can still walk.

This time,
step by step,
I shall make my way
to a better time,
a better future.

And this time,
the scent of you
will not haunt me anymore.