Poetic Remedy No. 11

It’s easy to convince yourself that you don’t need anything from anyone. You learn to move through the world like an island, proud of how little you ask for. But love isn’t a one-way street, and keeping your guard up isn’t the same thing as being okay.

Sometimes the hardest truth to face is that you’ve become so comfortable with neglect that genuine kindness makes you want to run away.

This poetic remedy is for the ones who are learning to receive love, not just give it.

Poetic Remedy No. 11

you spent so long
being the person who remembered

the birthday
the hard day
how someone takes their coffee

it became second nature
loving other people

that you never stopped to wonder
what it might feel like
to be cared for
with the same attention

and now when someone
reaches for the heavy bag
before you can even move

your hands don’t know where to go

they ask how you are
and actually wait for the real answer
and you feel your throat tighten

and the words get stuck
somewhere in the middle

they remember things
you barely remembered yourself

and something in you
goes quiet

because receiving
feels far more vulnerable
than giving ever did

but

you were never meant
to be the well
everyone drinks from

while pretending
you don’t get thirsty too

love was never supposed
to move in only one direction

you are allowed to need things

to let your guard down
to let someone in

and when your instinct
is to push it away

try staying
long enough
to receive it

—
Debra King
Beautiful Things Grow Here

Wishing you a soft place to rest, and a night that treats you gently..

P.S. Poetic Remedy No. 11 is officially available as an illustrated print in the shop—a gentle daily reminder. You can find it here: Link to Print No. 11

The Soul Work

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