Thank You Poem to One Who Loves Me. (These are the truest things I know of love experienced.)

Thank You Poem to One Who Loves Me

Thank you for addressing me
For undressing the beliefs I held about me
For reminding me what's possible so I can see
Life is a thing of power and beauty
As I had once known it to be.
Thank you for the gifts you hold out to me
For holding me
In the circle of your arms,
every moment is safety
from bed,
to the sidewalk,
to the jolting trolley,
You hold me secure,
Yet with freedom...
You do it so gracefully.
You refuse to criticize me,
Instead present options of how else it could be,
And though visions you may have,
still you listen to me;
I feel respected in the expectations you hold for me.
Thank you for sweating
For and with me,
For the sharing in all ways
of your sweet energy
For explaining, showing, teaching, doing, learning with me....
For never making me feel bad, ashamed,
for apologizing the very few times needed,
For telling me to stay with you and cry,
rather than go be alone and cry,
Even though it was in my shame when I'd hurt you,
You wanted me with you,
Wouldn't let me punish myself with loneliness,
hide my feelings,
Or despair alone,
No,
you talked to me,
Held me while I cried,
held and spoke with such tenderness,
Helped bring my focus away from what happened
To what I want more positively instead,
Til I was telling you stories of vegetable gardens,
My favorite teacher,
transformation,
And life.
No more bitterness where I flood my bed with tears,
rocking alone as though my own arms could comfort what takes two or three to soothe.
I can be present with and release them,
All healing;
No new scars.
And in the nighttime
as I'm writing,
And the daytime
as I'm working
your words,
your eyes,
Your movements,
your smile,
Our visions for the future,
And the memories we build
Give a gravity
A stability
A relief, a joy, a calm
To this newly refreshed heart,
To this happily settling mind,
To this body getting stronger,
To a purpose
Coming clear
In love.
--
Oct. 22, 2012 CBF