My eyes locked with hers.
Deep in the pool of emotion, I imagined I heard her heart cry
"I just want to be loved"
Saw his anger burst
heightened by the weight of my ugly words
If I could simply have remembered that he
just wants to be loved.
In the core of my being it settles.
A constant ache to be accepted - to be heard -
To know with certainty that
my existence - my life - matters.
Woven into the fabric of this frame
and every fiber within it
is the search for purpose.
A burning desire to add my unique contributions to the world
and for someone to accept and value them -
to value me.
I suppose it's just another way to say
I just want to be loved.
At the end of the day
who is willing to stay
no matter what I've done
who I've been
how I've failed to be the me I'm proud of...
who is willing to love
**Shared on my virtual women's retreat "Lavish Love" summer 2020