Today Means Amen

Dear you,

whoever you are,

however you got here,

This is exactly where you are supposed to be.

This moment has waited its whole life for you.

This moment is your lover and you are a soldier,

Come home baby, it's over.

You don't need to suffer anymore.

Dear you,

This moment is a surprise party,

You are both hiding in the dark and walking through the door.

This moment is a hallelujah,

This moment is your permission slip

to finally open that love letter

you've been hiding from yourself,

The one you wrote when you were little,

when you danced like a sparkler at dusk,

Do you remember the moment you realized

they were watching?

When you became ashamed

of how much light you were holding?

When you first learned how to un-love yourself?

Dear you,

The word 'today' means 'amen' in every language.

Today we made it,

Today I'm gonna love you

Today the box cutter will rust in the garbage,

Today the noose will forget how to hold you,

Today--

Today--

Dear you--and I have always meant you,

Nothing would be the same if you did not exist.

You, who were once as small as a bouquet,

Who could sleep in the laps of strangers,

Nothing would be the same if you did not exist.

You, whose voice is someone's favorite voice,

Someone's favorite face to wake up to,

Nothing would be the same if you did not exist.

You, the teacher, the priest,

The lantern in the night who offers not a way home

but the courage to travel further in the dark.

You, the lover who worships the taste of her body,

who is the largest tree ring in her heart,

Who does not let fear ration your love.

You, the friend,

The sacred chorus of "how can I help?"

You, who have felt more numb than holy,

More cracked than mosaic,

Who has known the tiles of a bathroom by heart,

Who has forgotten what makes you worth it.

You, the forgiven,

The forgiver,

Who belongs right here in this moment.

You, this clump of cells,

This happy explosion that happened to start breathing,

By the grace of whatever is up there,

You got here,

You made it this whole way.

Through the nights that swallowed you whole,

The mornings that arrived in pieces.

The scabs,

The gravel,

the doubt,

the hurt--

the hurt--

The hurt is over,

Today you made it--

You made it.

You made it.

Today. Amen.