hello, sweetie

i hope today treats you kinder than yester years
i hope today alleviates the fears of past trauma and heartache
i hope it reminds you of all the people you’ve been

‘cause right now, you’ve hit your quota—
the limit of disappointment you can take,
the amount of discomfort you can stomach

today, you’re nebulous in thought and bound by the demons that haunt you
you’re adrift in the sea of hopelessness, but remember…

you have survived

you have walked over flames from the volcano’s open mouth
you have clawed your way out of hell
you’ve encouraged yourself in the midst of darkness

and there you stand

a whole woman with the scars and tattoos to prove it
a woman with light in her eyes,
gratitude on her tongue,
dripping healing from her lips like honey

a woman whose love for herself finally outweighs the hate of it
whose song to the darkness encourages it to smile

on the days when this life made no sense
you were reminded that what is
is not what was

so to the woman who stands at the door now:

come on in
rest a while
breathe