I am who I am.
And that is more than enough for me.
I know my worth.
It is not determined by others, but by me.

Outsiders do not define my value.

And I could care less how others see me,

what they believe or think of me.
I know my own path.
I follow it.

Love is home. It is that inner peace. It is a soft, steady breath, a refreshing, playful smile. Love is toasty, sun-kissed cheeks glowing in the night. It is a shy, hearty giggle. And a gentle fire raging beneath the skin.

Still waters run deep but memories run deeper.

With time, many insignificant things fall away,
but the important ones live on.

Some regrets hang around, too.
They get comfortable and become unshakable.

The serene sounds of flourishing mists

as they hug the soft face of dawn.
The warm arms of daylight as it peers over the hills.
A hint of perfumed flowers bathed in dewdrops

as their fresh scents drift through the air.

These images cuddle my ears like the lasting echoes of you.

Sunrise is mornings bathed in candlelight

and seasoned with piping hot mocha.
It is a moment, in a perfect place.
It is a person.

It is an enduring memory.
Sunrise is an unforgettable hug,

an unspoken word, an unbreakable bond.
It is a loud smile.

I pray God grant me the proficiency

to make time with you last longer;

insight to use it wisely;

and knowledge to cauterise buds of doubt

before they flower into regrets.
But if time granted me more time,
I would be brazenly selfish.
I would slow its stride and take it firmly by the hand.
Every thought I ever thought,

and every feeling I ever felt would be openly expressed.

I am tired of concealing the smile tattooed on the face of my heart.
I much prefer to bare it to the world.
Instead, I sit alone in the company of make-believe;
scavenging time and the rubble of memories

to determine which are real and which are contrived.

I am exhausted by the low-hanging fog of uncertainty,

And the odd stillness that envelopes me,

making it harder to make sense of the enduring silence.
It forces me to bite my tongue and manage feelings.