As Yourself

What a waste to be hiding,
didn’t we think? So I
gave you my sight line
and the quiver behind,
shedding several old
skins in the course of
my tears. You rowed
down that river, the
heart of my darkness,
and tethered your soul
to the floodplain spine.
You were a part of my
yesterday, my tomorrow
too, and this moment,
I’m hoping, in the wounds
broken open, the courage
you planted finally took.
And I’ll grow into love
because of you.

--
For K.P. and R.H.​

Aisling Cruz is a Midwest-based poet and artist. Her work has appeared in Gotham Literature, Agape Review and Oyster River Pages, among others.