It's a poem I found in a Dear Abby column around the time we were married. As I read it again yesterday for the first time in over two decades, I realized how differently I interpret the words now that I have experienced so much more of life.
After a While
After a while
you learn the subtle difference
between holding a hand
and sharing a life.
And you learn
that love doesn't mean possession
and company doesn't mean security
and loneliness is universal.
And you learn
that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises.
And you begin
to accept your defeats
with your head up
and your eyes open,
with the grace of a woman
not the grief of a child.
And you learn
to build your hope
on today,
as the future has a way
of falling apart in mid-flight.
Because tomorrow's ground
can be too uncertain
for plans,
yet each step taken
in a new direction
creates a path
toward the promise of a brighter dawn.
And you learn
that even sunshine burns
if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden
and nourish your own soul,
instead of waiting
for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn
that love,
true love,
always has joys and sorrows,
seems ever present,
yet is never quite the same.
Becoming more than love
and less than love,
so difficult to define.
And you learn
that through it all
you really can endure,
that you really are strong,
that you do have value,
and you learn
and grow.
With every goodbye
you learn.
~ Veronica Shoffstall
How interesting that I save this. I wonder what the words will mean to me two decades from now.
