Where Love Heals

yesterday morning
felt easy

routine
automatic

I got dressed
without thinking

keys in hand,
one last glance in the mirror—

and I paused

because for the first time in a long time,
I recognized her

confident.
Steady.
at home in her own skin

every day,
a little closer
to the woman I’m becoming

ten hours later

I was standing
in front of the same mirror

trying on versions of myself
that might be easier to love

nothing fit

not the clothes
not the thoughts

and suddenly
everything was wrong

too much
too big
not enough

like I had forgotten

who I was
that morning

nothing about me
had changed

just the presence
of someone
I wanted to be chosen by

and somehow
that was enough

to make me forget

I had already
chosen myself

I’ve spent too much time
standing in front of mirrors

asking

what’s wrong with me

today
I asked something different

what if
nothing is

and for the first time
that felt

true

so I smiled

not because I believed it perfectly

but because

I’m learning

I don’t need to become
someone else

to be enough

Jacque