
Trying to figure out
who this version of me is
She feels like a stranger,
but I think I might end up
liking her
-gws

Trying to figure out
who this version of me is
She feels like a stranger,
but I think I might end up
liking her
-gws

When you came into my life
You promised to be my everything
You destroyed everything instead
My hopes
My dreams
My confidence
My joy
My ability to love you
My ability to love me
So I made sure to take everything
When I left
-gws

When we leave a toxic relationship
self-doubt and second guessing prevent us
From locking the door behind us
We wonder if we’ve made the right choice
We wonder if we’ve made a mistake
If your freedom feels like liberation
You have made the right choice
For your long term wellbeing
It’s time to lock that door
-gws

My future is tabula rasa
Full of possibilities
Slow to emerge from the long shadows
And still brushing off the cobwebs of shame, doubt, and fear
I begin to wonder what awaits me
Who awaits me
The question nauseates me
I'm not ready to open my heart
Nor do I expect to be ready any time soon
And yet I find myself wondering
Will there be another
My heart fearfully whispering,
"Will I get a second chance?"
I'm not ready to fall in love again
I am only longing for the magic of falling
The elation that comes from feeling seen
Feeling chosen
Because all I wanted for so long
Was to feel chosen
To be enough
I am working to remember how to love me
How to be enough for myself
How to appreciate my perfect imperfections
How to forgive the choices I made to survive
I must become reacquainted with me
My future is tabula rasa
Full of possibilities
Bursting with opportunity to craft a life I want to live
And blessed with time to heal from a life I endured
I embrace my next chapter gratefully
Even as my knees quake with each step forward
My blank slate has its first word: freedom
Its second word: peace
I think that's a beautiful place for a new story to start
-gws

I am no longer funding
The luxury of familiarity
It has cost me too much
And offered questionable ROI
I am only entertaining thoughtful investment
In quality platonic companionship
For those interested in applying
Limited applications are being accepted
A nonrefundable fee will be assessed
And a thorough background check performed
I reserve the right to cancel the requisition at any time
And invest in my own peace instead
-gws

I have coated my boundaries in sacred salt
Saged the walls of my mind
Served healing teas to my soul
Soaked my dreams in moon water
Calmed my spirits with lavender sachets
I have removed the “welcome” mat from my doorstep
Hung a horseshoe above my threshold
Covered my aura in layers of steel
Cut the cord with silver shears
All to reclaim myself from you
-gws

I so want to trust what you say
But you believe what you concoct
Making your lies into
A convincing-sounding truth
-gws

Remember how it was before
When I confidently walked through my life
Believing in a future full of infinite possibilities
Idealistic and self-possessed
Inspired and free to manifest the life I desired
Never apologizing for the joyousness of my nature
Never apologizing for my independence and adventurousness
Never apologizing
Such a contrast with who I would embody for too long
Cowed and questing to find the right key
That would unlock your love for the me I was before
The me that I thought you cherished
The me that was once upon a time enough
I remember how it was before
I am on a journey back to myself
The version of me that resembles the echos of my unscarred self
Together we will offer an apology to the me that was before
A reclamation of what I thought was lost
And I will be a wonder again
-gws

She’s not beautiful
She’s a bloodied beast
A bold, brassy, badass
Bravely battling brash bandits
Bone-weary from the bullshit
Burdened and burnt out
Building a budding new self
Walking away from brutality
Becoming balanced
Banishing bad habits from her bones
Barefoot upon the earth and beaming
Beginning a brand new bountiful life
-gws

The mostly dead tendrils of my heart want so badly to reach toward you, like water, when you say you miss me
They forget you are the drought that caused them to lie shriveled and desolate in the first place
I must always remind them of that
-gws