To you, with love.
Sending love,
to those who’ve had love and lost love
who crave love and miss who they were in love
who were hurt under the guise of love
who lapsed in judgment and destroyed love
who have learned what love is and what isn’t,
to those who say they no longer desire love
and to those who actually mean it.
Sending love,
to those who forget what love feels like
who gave all the love they had left, only to be themselves left
to those who stayed in the name of love
were manipulated in the name of love
controlled and traumatized
but soldiered on in the name of love.
And to those who confused
fear for love
lust for love
insecurity for love
alignment for love
control for love
loneliness for love
and emotional ambiguity for love.
Sending love,
to those who don’t remember the comfort
of lying in someone’s arms, warm and at ease
who have forgotten the sweet taste of lips
and the gentleness of fingertips sweeping a jawline,
the hunger of desire and the relinquishing of self into another.
To those who haven’t warmed and melted inside for such a long time
who haven’t met their crush in a moment of eyes finding another’s
nor laying skin to skin, laughing deliriously, souls in full sync,
because that part of them no longer exists
and no one can reach them anymore.
Sending love,
to those who tried so hard
and struggled with tough decisions
who held tightly to safe havens and wishful thinking
but lost their dignity in the process.
To those who are still navigating the journey of love
their beliefs about what is right or normal or healthy
and the conflicted emotions when something no longer fits.
Sending love,
to those who agonized because their love was not reciprocated
after placing their greatness, unbeknownst to them, in unworthy hands
over time, leaving them to feel invisible and unlovable
urging them only to try harder still
because their earliest wounds kept them chasing proof-of-worth.
Sending love,
to those born into emotional extremes
and whose chemistry are now hard-wired for electric love
high on the buzz but not equipped for short circuits and power outages,
constantly craving sparks of reassurance that their love is still alive
fear and insecurity breeding inevitable passion, fireworks, turbulence
their body and mind hijacked and never really knowing
how to trust love and how to submit
into calm love, kind love, a safe and gentle love.
Sending love,
to those who have lost hope and don’t even want to find another love
so they’ll never again be frozen and fearful that love could be rescinded
nor tempted to contort who they are to hold one’s affection.
No expectations to achieve, no masks
no risk of losing themselves or disappointing another
a small price to pay they’ve carefully weighed
and found peace with the sweet bitterness of it all.
Sending love,
to those who still pine for futures that will never be
and those crouched at a headstone, laying that single red rose
grieving the unfathomable reality of never again.
Whose eyes fill with tears after a few notes of their song
their ruby silk dressing gown still hanging in the wardrobe
their favourite mug sits untouched in the cupboard
their cologne tucked in the back of the bathroom drawer,
wafting memories from time to time.
But they work hard with intention to welcome the rising sun of each new day
and eventually, they feel its warmth without that constant effort.
Sending love,
to those who still can’t forgive themselves
for the unloving person they became
intentionally or as their deeply-rooted default
for waiting too long to pay attention to the cracks before the collapse
for the mistakes they made that lit the match
that turned their love from fire to ash.
And to those who wish the hands of time could grant them one last chance
yet settling on a wicked kind of self-induced, eternal karma.
Sending love,
to those who had the great strength to forgive
but who always sit with that undeniable pang way down deep
and to those who run swiftly at that first new feeling of curiosity and excitement
the unyielding urge to sabotage, stifling
knowing from experience that a sad ending is the only inevitable ending;
a burden far too heavy to bear.
Sending love,
to the brave and courageous souls who won’t relent
who won’t allow for hopelessness or accept a life
impoverished of deep and extraordinary romantic love
those crazy stars in your eyes, lighting up the darkest of skies
keep dreaming because you, my friend embody love
and you light the way for others to dare to dream too.
Sending love,
to those beautiful souls whose pasts haunt them
those who never learned to love healthily
to those still unaware
to those waking up
and to those who have gone deep and know that should love come again,
they are more than enough, and so far beyond loveable.
Those who are steadfast in their unwillingness to negotiate
who gets a seat at their table
as they know better, they discern earlier, they make better choices
they love themselves harder now
and are unfiltered and fully themselves,
without pause, question, or apology.
Sending love,
to those who prepare for themselves an exquisite dinner tonight
lighting their best candles at their single place setting
with that freshly corked bottle of their favourite sparkling Rosé
feeling every impeccable note of that timeless song that sets their soul ablaze
still grateful, donning a cheeky smile at the beauty and madness of it all
and bravely acknowledging the perfection of this single moment in time.
❤ Cheers to you, sweet Valentines ❤
