Feeling.

Joy isn't just the sunny days
with ice cream drips and perfect words.
Love isn't just the first few seconds,
flawless moments and romance books.
Life isn't just laughter that bounces off the clouds,
the birth of new things or smell of leaves.

Joy is the rain falling,
sweet relief pouring across your face,
moments when your value of everything,
every little thing,
is the largest thing.

Love is the tears of a resolved argument
dripping into a well of shared emotion,
the unconditional
"let me wipe your eyes with my sleeve and hold you close when you dislike me most."

Life is the constant cycle
of last and first breaths,
of holding onto things so tight
only to realize you are most fulfilled when you let them go.

See your scars not as reminders of the bad you went through
but as the strength that allowed you to survive,
feel your pain not to wallow in it
but to know that you can endure,
live your life not to wait for the end
but to revel in each moment you spend
           
            f e e l i n g.