I’ve spent years in the past, lacking a foundation

The wind picking me up and battering me against everything in my path

I slam into relationships and friendships alike

I try to plant roots in them

But they are not me.

If every person you meet is a potential friend, you lose yourself further

Not everyone is for each other

The desire to give and please, to be liked, no— admired

Leaves me routinely destroyed by lackluster reactions to my person, to me

Because they do not know me.

Finally, bruised and battered, tumbled across rocky friendships

Boundaries emerge

I begin to set down roots

I learn who I am, and why

Not everyone is for each other

As the wind batters at my limbs, my roots keep me steady

I finally know me.