And then there was me

I know that now

Before, there was me

And after, there will be me

As full as I may have gotten

As empty as I choose to be

Naked and adorned

With every scar and memory

I’ve collected on the way.

I’ll be weightless I’m sure

Breathy I hope

In awe and pleased

About the saga I’ve written.

In moments of quiet

I think about all the work I put in

To woman

To wife

To mother

To teacher

To student

To employee and employer

To artist

To friend

To support and to advocate

To exist big and wide and expansive

To be personal and introspective and gentle

Only to find

that there was me all along

Without and withall

Both plain and simple

Yet grandiose and epic.

In moments like this

When I’m afraid I’m giving up too much

And watching myselfness slip away

I hope to return back

To where there was just me

And rest in those moments awhile

She’s always begging me back

Like a lighthouse shining from within