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(Click to hear a little bit of how this book came to be and to hear me read this poem.)
Sometimes loving all of them feels too hard.
I don’t know how to feel the whole size of it.
It’s hard to love the part of them that fights me every day.
So I look at one small part.
The small soft tuft of hair where it meets the forehead.
The tip of the nose.
The curve of the shoulder.
I know how to love those places.
Those places love me back.
I smooth the hairline.
Gently tap the nose.
My palm on the shoulder
Its curve fills my hand.
My touch says, “I love you.”
Some days loving the whole comes easy.
Some days I pour my intention, my love
into one small part
and hope my love spreads outward.
In loving the part, I love the whole.
I hope this synecdoche is enough.
A through line.
A touchstone.
A way to say, “I love you,” even when it’s hard.
A way to remind myself of my love even when loving is hard.
I hope on the days when I can’t do it all
that part will be enough.
Reflection Questions:
What one small part do you love?
How do you keep loving even in the face of resistance and defiance?
How do you show your love in the times when it’s hard to love?
This is one of the 38 poems is included in my book. If you like this one, you might like the whole thing =).