NEPHART.COM

Do they appreciate

the way you are

I stopped caring

what people say

I appreciated myself

enough

to last a month

Then I came back

stood in front of the mirror

and admitted

self-appreciation leaks

All I wanted

was validation from others

But they arrive carrying

different mouths

different weather

You dress this way

you look smart

No, you look bland

No, you don’t look like

you belong to this land

So appreciation becomes optional

and validation

a requirement

Yet nothing

nothing we need as much

as closing our eyes

What else do we need

to remember ourselves

Memory lane

unchanged

The way she looked at me

like she was already gone

That look

Those eyes

Distant before distance

Memories don’t leave

they relocate

Will we cross paths someday

Nothing to do

Nothing to say

Destiny doesn’t need applause

Only witness

We must appreciate

the way we are

In one way

and the other

Two sides of the same lane

Me

You

Us

All of us

walking

without noticing

we never left

memory lane