You said return to me
so here I am
skin and bones held together
with memories and a little bit of
duct tape. I am bringing
the worst of me,
consider yourself warned—
the furrowed brow,
the achy back,
the slew of judgments,
a pocket full of assumptions,
the track of negativity that runs
laps in my head.
I am bringing it all
because you said
return to me,
edits not required,
so return I will.
And not all of it will be bad.
Some of it will be lovely.
I will bring
a wagon full of nostalgia,
a melody that won’t let me go,
a million stories that start with the words,
“Oh it was beautiful!”
I will bring a mended heart,
a glass half-full,
two lungs, out of breath
from dancing too long,
and dreams that taste like honey.
I will bring my whole
messy
human self
because I know,
I just know,
deep in my bones,
that you are already running to meet me.
There are no cuts on this team.
You said you’d take it all,
so here I come.
Me and all my humanity.
We are on my way.
Poem by Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed
sanctifiedart.org
The Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed is a writer with A Sanctified Art and an associate pastor at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City.
