"i love the way"

a poem about learning to love yourself

"i love the way 
your smile lights up the room,
the way your laugh bounces off the walls,
the way you're not afraid to dance while
walking down the street.

i love the way 
you feel your feelings —
all at once and unapologetically —
the way you care about others
at full-speed with no pit stops,
the way you find joy in the little things.

i love the way
your face brightens at the things you love,
the way you think and create and
communicate,
the way you just want people to be happy
— and the way you fight to find that
happiness too.

but, most importantly,
i love you,"
she says
to the girl in the mirror.

I don't normally post poetry on this blog, but it is so incredibly rare for me to have written this. Many of my poems come from a place of pain, of heartbreak, and of grief. Not many of my "poems" (if you can call them that) come from a place of acceptance or love, especially not self-love which I often lack. I am so eager to tell others I love and care for them, but hesitant to say it to the one person who needs to hear it most: me. So, today I'm saying it (even if I don't fully believe it yet).