Unlearning You

Little girl in the hallway, shoes beside the door

Holding up her drawing, waiting for an “of course”

She learned to read the silence, learned to shrink her name

Smiled for every picture while she carried all the blame

She gave away her gold stars, her laughter and her trust

Kept reaching for a hand that never reached for her enough

Every room became a question

Every heart became a test

She wore herself into a whisper

Trying to earn what she deserved

You were never the problem

You were never too much

You were a heart full of hoping

In a world that asked you to hush

Now I see you, little woman

Come and lay your burdens down

You were never the problem

You were worthy all along

She grew into a woman with a calendar of needs

Saying yes through every fracture, bending at the knees

She loved them past their leaving, stayed quiet to belong

Then cried beside the kitchen sink with the water running on

She knew the taste of sorry when it wasn't hers to say

And watched the ones she begged to love keep turning away

But two small boys were watching

From the doorway, soft and still

She saw her mother’s silence

And decided that it ends here

You were never the problem

You were never too much

You were a heart full of hoping

In a world that asked you to hush

Now I see you, little woman

Come and lay your burdens down

You were never the problem

You were worthy all along

I will not teach my sons

That love means disappearing

I will show them a woman

Who can speak without fearing

I can close a door with kindness

I can leave what makes me small

I can choose my name, my body

My own voice above them all

You were never the problem

You were never too much

You were a heart full of hoping

In a world that asked you to hush

Now I see you, little woman

Come and lay your burdens down

You were never the problem

You were worthy all along

Look at me, my little girl

I am here, and I am proud

You don't have to beg for love

You can love yourself out loud