Poetic Remedy No. 12

You spend a lot of your life just trying to outrun your childhood. You think if you move fast enough, build a big enough life, or stay busy enough, you can leave the hardest parts behind you.

But eventually, you have to turn around. And when you do, you find a younger version of yourself still standing exactly where you left her, still holding all the heavy things she was never meant to carry alone.

This poetic remedy is for the ones doing the heavy work of reparenting themselves.

somewhere along the way
you found her.

the one you had left behind
while you were busy trying to survive.

and you wept.

not for who you are now
but for who she was then
and everything she had to carry
in hands that were far too small.

you sat with her.

and you said the things
nobody ever said to you,

i’m sorry.
you didn’t deserve that.
none of it was your fault.

look at everything I have done
to make us safe.

we never have to go through that again.

and she believed you.

because you built
the life
she always needed.

and she is finally home.

—
Debra King
Beautiful Things Grow Here

P.S. Poetic Remedy No. 12 is now available as a print in my shop, created to offer a little comfort on the days you need it most. You can find it here: Link to Print

It takes a massive amount of courage to look at your past and refuse to let it dictate your present. Grieving for the child you were is a necessary part of honoring the adult you are becoming.

Needing people isn’t a flaw, and being cared for isn’t a debt you have to pay back. If you’re hiding behind being the “strong one” because your younger self had to be, tell me what it feels like to finally drop the weight in the comments. I’m right there with you.

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