REBORN

I am the same woman
Yet I am not.
I walk with speed and purpose
But that purpose now has changed.
The speed, it has slowed down a bit
I walk taller and stronger
Still big but lighter, nimbler
With more grace so it seems.

My eyes
They differ too
Crows’ feet they’re not
Crinkling at the sides they twinkle.
Are they laugh lines?
They look out at the world
With more softness and compassion
I feel every sound, every motion
Every emotion.
I still feel pain a lot
Yet I know now that
in pain there is joy.

I embrace everything
Knowing that as tide
Ebbs and flows
The pain, the sadness
They too shall pass
And with nightfall comes day
With every dark comes light

As promised.