My Heart is a Garden

I allow myself to change

Change clothes

Change hairstyles

Change relationships

Change boundaries

Even though others have judged me

And accused me of changing

Too much

I know myself

I trust my path

Everything I have experienced

Has led me

To the current version

Of myself

I am not afraid

To evolve

And when others personalize

My experience,

I will meet their fear

With love

And tolerance

I will remove myself

From harmful situations

I will stand firmly

In my own self-worth

And I will remember

That I don’t have to

Prove or explain myself

To anyone

It hurts me to think

Of all the times

I’ve let others

Hurt me

Their words

Pierced my soul

I feared

For their own sense

Of self-worth

And my self-esteem

Plummeted

It hurts me to think

Of all the times

I’ve let myself

Hurt me

My words

Pierced my soul

I feared

For my own sense

Of self-worth

And my self-esteem

Plummeted

Not anymore

I am my authentic self

When I sing

In the car

When I share

My pain

When I tell

My story

When I travel

Freely

When I write

Without reservation

When I live

As I am

Without expectation

From others

I used to let my pain

Filter my truth

But I know now

That my love

Is more powerful

Than my fear

My mind is a labyrinth

And I built the walls

Myself

My heart is a garden

I failed to water

For many years

But deserts are beautiful, too

10/15/2019