she sat. 

her legs crossed. 

eyes closed. 

the forest surrounded her in darkness.

she thought.

 her mind jumbled.

 thoughts tangled. 

the forest enveloped her in quiet.

she was alone.

 no one near her. 

no one could hear her. 

the forest waited.

she began to cry.

 her tears running. 

eyes emptying. 

the forest waited still.

she felt fragile. 

her hope disappearing.

 heart breaking. 

the forest held her.

the forest wrapped its warm ivies around her, 

ticked her feet with its grass, 

bloomed flowers surrounding her.

she realized wasn't alone.

and,

she smiled.

i want to take the bits of you i love

and press them like flowers

between the pages of my favorite book

and i want to take all the scraps

that you dislike in yourself

and display them on my refrigerator

to show you i'm still proud

of the person you are

and the person you are becoming

but most of all, i want to spin you like a globe

and drag my finger across till it stops

to discover the pieces of you

that you've yet to reveal to anyone else

i want to wrap them up in linen

and place them in an old cigar box,

i'd tuck it away safely

in the top drawer of my bedside table,

so you know i'll never let

those pieces of you go

because when you share

hidden parts of yourself

with someone else,

you're trusting that person

to hold the secret sections

of your heart

and to love the bits

you thought

were unlovable.

If only our bodies would marry the beauty

growing inside them,

it wouldn't be

so exhausting

trying to love

ourselves.

but

because of you,

I can feel myself

slowly

but surely

becoming the me

I have always

dreamed of being.