Found You In The Wreckage

I’ve carried more than I should have

Held onto things that only hurt me

Learned to expect the worst,

Because the worst was what I knew.

But then you came along,

And you didn’t look away.

You didn’t try to fix me,

You just stayed.

I found you in the wreckage,

Sifting through the parts of me I thought were useless.

You didn’t flinch at the sharp edges,

Didn’t turn away from the mess.

For the first time, I’m not afraid to be seen.

I’ve been left in rooms gone silent,

Begged to be enough,

Shrank myself to fit into places

That were never meant for me.

But you never asked me to be smaller.

You never asked me to be anything

But who I already was.

I found you in the wreckage,

Sifting through the parts of me I thought were useless.

You didn’t flinch at the sharp edges,

Didn’t turn away from the mess.

For the first time, I’m not afraid to be seen.

I don’t brace for the goodbye anymore.

I don’t wait for the silence to mean the end.

You taught me that love doesn’t have to leave,

That kindness doesn’t have to come with conditions.

I used to think love was something I had to earn.

Now I know—

It’s something I deserve.