Where Love Heals

Where love, heartbreak, and healing live in words

The Road Knew

There were days
I was certain
life had mistaken me
for someone stronger.

Days that arrived
with empty hands
and still managed
to take something.

I thought survival
would feel heroic.

Instead,
it looked like
getting out of bed,
answering one more call,
believing tomorrow
might soften
what today could not.

I used to wish
I could erase
every wrong turn,
every goodbye,
every crack
that split my heart open.

But standing here now,
I wouldn’t.

Because the road
I begged to escape
became the one
that led me home.

The broken places
didn’t ruin the journey.

They taught me
how to recognize
what was worth keeping.

And after everything,
after all the endings
I thought would become me,

I have learned the biggest lesson.

Love was never waiting
at the finish line.

It was there
every time
I chose kindness
instead of bitterness,
hope instead of fear,
an open heart
instead of a guarded one.

Maybe that is
what saves us.

Not a life
without sorrow,

but a heart
that keeps choosing love,
again
and again,

until one day
you look around
at the life
you thought
you’d never have,

and realize

even the hardest miles
were carrying you here.

Jacque Michele

4 responses to “The Road Knew”

  1. Christopher Hall

    I’m curious, tell me if I’m crazy! LOL! When I love, I love really fucking hard! Like I take my heart, and I just want someone else’s to literally beat right next to mine, and let the light off of both of our hearts like up like a supernova! For years, when I’ve not seen that type of devotion given back to me, I would feel super resentful. But now all of a sudden, I feel at peace with those past decisions. Because I showed up and I loved someone anyway. For, what greater thing could I do really! It’s a strange feeling that I’m now at that kind of place. I’m pretty sure you can relate to exactly what I’m saying in your own context surely! So glad to be here! 🙏🏻👏🏻 (Also to be clear, I’m doing much better now with setting boundaries and making sure my devotion is reciprocated, before I give that kind of love to someone else now. it just feels good to be okay with my past trial and error now, knowing that nothing was inherently wrong with how I loved)

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    1. Jacque

      I can absolutely relate to this. There’s something incredibly freeing about looking back and realizing that loving deeply was never the mistake. The lesson was learning where that love belongs, and that boundaries and an open heart can exist at the same time. Being at peace with who we were, even through the trial and error, is such a beautiful kind of growth. So glad you’re here. ❤️

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  2. 10Past10

    To have pain as a result of a relationship…whether the ending of one or just the time in one…can be debilitating. It can amputate the heart and prevent us from loving again. Like a new relationship would end like an organ rejection so we sabotage it or don’t even take the leap.
    Your poem is so optimistic in its perspective. Just a tremendous win to acknowledge the past. The broken places didn’t ruin the journey; they taught you how to recognize what was worth keeping.
    I would say the same for me. And I’m the best version of myself for the true love I have now. With my soulmate and best friend.
    It’s all worth it. Learn. But there’s no going back.
    Keep writing and keep loving.

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    1. Jacque

      Thank you so much for this. I love what you said about becoming the best version of yourself for the love you have now. That’s such a beautiful reminder that none of what we go through has to be wasted. We learn, we grow, and hopefully we carry those lessons forward without letting them harden us. I can’t wait to find the one who makes all of that heartache finally make sense. Until then, I’ll keep writing, growing, and choosing love. ❤️

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