Recovery

I have been told that I can move mountains with a look, 

that I am a goddess,

that I am beautiful and strong and that I am loved unconditionally

all by people I have never met.

Those words are kind,

and they bring me hope when I feel hopeless,

But once, someone very dear looked at me

and said very quietly,

"You know, in all the time that I've known you, 

I have never seen a broken girl,"

And that meant more 

that any compliment,

any empty phrase,

could ever mean. 

Because when you feel like your body is covered in a sickness,

that you just can't scrub off,

and when your heart is riddled with bullet wounds,

from the cruelty of abuse,

and your soul just feels shattered,

whenever you remember,

and you feel like no matter how good you are,

you will never be good enough.

Having someone tell you that you are not broken,

and that it is okay

to feel all those things,

and that those will all pass with time,

is the greatest gift,

I could have ever asked for.