I’m back in my childhood bedroom,
looking in the mirror
in the same gray pajama shirt
that used to go down to my knees.
Now, it fits me.
How crazy,
I don’t remember growing so quickly.
–
I see the outline of you in my mirror.
Some things are the same,
and some things have changed.
Both our eyes still have light in them,
but mine have been relit.
I found something that lit my soul on fire,
and the world around me became brighter.
I came back with scars I didn’t have before.
In a way, you could say that makes me weaker,
but I have survived more than I ever thought I could.
In a way, you could say that makes me stronger.
–
Remember how you pictured light in our future.
We felt the warmth of the campfire,
we heard the crackling of the fireplace,
we saw the colorful Christmas lights,
we smelled the sweetness of a candle,
we felt the strength of the sun and the softness of a bedside lamp.
It was better than we could have imagined
because life has a beautiful way of doing that.
–
Life has been a balancing act.
Too much of one thing felt like being in the middle of the ocean,
and too little felt like being in the desert.
It was a long journey, but we finally found our beach,
a good balance of each
You always loved the beach.
I understand now why you thought it was paradise.
We made a sand castle that is the prototype of our home, here.
We were able to find comfort
in things that didn’t hurt.
–
I’m glad you didn’t make a frame for what you pictured life to be.
It would have boxed us in.
In this shirt, I think of you.
Nostalgia energizes me like hope energizes you.
We have grown immensely
and in the same breath.
We have grown the length of a shirt that used to go to my knees
and now fits me.
You have grown into the life you were always meant to have,
and the person you were always meant to be.