After a while
June 24, 2008
After a while, you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul,
and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t mean security.
And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises,
and you begin to accept your defeats with your head held high and your eyes open,
with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child.
And you learn that even sunshine hurts if you get too much.
And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans.
So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers…
And you learn that you really can endure, you really are strong and you really do have worth.
- Veronica Shoffstall
This was a poem given to me at 17 by my dear friend Romita and it inspired me to start maintaining a written record of quotes. It’s from one of the books in the ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ series, and as I grow older, I marvel at the wisdom contained in these simple lines.
