self love

loving myself

was the scariest act

of gentle struggle

and quiet strength

I've ever fought. 

to step away from

the cages of doubt

that had become

comfortable and familiar

was to plunge into

an all-out free fall.

it scared me.

that's why I never

fought for it.

but when the barbed wire 

I had spun

wrapped tight enough for long enough,

when my defense became scarier

than the unknown,

I stepped out,

reached out,

and slowly,

unlocked my cage.