Within

It took me a whole year.

To understand that the love I wanted

First had to come from me

And not others, out there.

Not from my husband.

Not from my child.

Sure, they filled certain parts,

But not this one. Not the depth of this wound.

The healing didn’t come from my family.

Not the biological one or the one I created.

In fact, my mother and in-laws only

Exacerbated my pain.

The entire time I was searching for

Something that I alone

Was the only one

Who could give it to me.

I no longer needed permission

I no longer needed another

I no longer accepted oppression

I no longer took myself for granted.

I rose up

From the ashes of

What I burned

Only to learn

That I needed

To honor

The love

within.