Comes the Dawn

After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul. And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning and company isn't security.

Kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises.

After awhile 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 roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain and futures have a way of crumbling in mid-flight.

After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you stand too long in one place.

So, you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone else to bring you flowers.

And you learn you really can endure, that you really do have worth. You learn that with every good-bye comes the dawn.

-Veronica A. Shoffstall