Reflections

I remember the first time I saw you. 

There was a tiredness in your eyes

mixed with the cerulean blue

that made me wonder how you managed

to stay above water all those years. 

The worry on your face

etched ruts between your brows

so deep I wondered how you

pulled yourself up out of them every morning. 

And your mouth -

pressed into the thinnest of lines.

It seemed impossible that it could open and speak words like

“I’m fine,” or “Have a nice day!”

How do you do it?

How do you lift the weight of the world?

Is it that the knots that tie your shoulders together also lift them to the sky?

How?

No, do not tell me. 

Do not take one more burden on.

You do not need to explain the how.

Just knowing you do is enough. 

You are enough.