Gentle

I will be gentle with myself

As the inner storm rages

Something is going on deep inside

With the demon who was once a need or impulse

In need of care

When life becomes this tumultuous whirlwind

Sadly in this life I was taught

To punish, shame and be tough

To barrell on

Even when my back was almost breaking

Sometimes it seemed in the darkest nights of despair

No one was there to comfort me

But angels were

I do not know how it was I survived those years

Drowning so deep within the pit of ancestral loneliness

You were very angry too

When first we met

And could not find a gentle side

And so in time

Things blew apart

And my entire being smarted

Once again from the pain

Of deep rejection

But now I find the truth

Perhaps some of the fault lay within my wounded child

And in yours as well

So now instead I think I will try

To be gentler about it all

For after all do we all

Not just long

To be deeply seen and known

(most importantly by ourselves)

Struggling as we do to find a way

To embrace each other’s heart

In healing compassion

And gentleness