Again (Love like Water)

Learning to love
Again,
Is like diving under water
When you came so close to drowning once before,
Held down by the hands of the person
You would've given your last breath
To protect.

It is allowing yourself
To step back amongst the waves
That knocked you down,
Span you round,
Dragged you under,
Then spat you back on to dry land
With no remorse,
So that you might
Again,
Feel the thrill you did as a child
Leaping an bounding over them
Without fear.

It is being able to look
Into the blue depths
At your own reflection
Again,
And being able to hold your own gaze
Without grimacing
Or wishing you were anything
Or anyone
But yourself,
Because you have began to notice
The beauty that is within you,
That was always within you.

It is taking off your arm bands,
Removing your goggles,
Letting go of the edge
Venturing far from the shallow end
And allowing yourself to float peacefully
Again,
Instead of dipping your toes
Into puddles
Ponds
And pools,
But being too scared
To submerge in the glory
Of the ocean.

It is letting it
Ripple over you,
Cleansing you of the hurt of the past,
Soothing cut wrists
And grazed knees,
Tending to your muscles
Sore from carrying the weight of the world
On bruised shoulders
And of a broken heart
In a brittle chest,
So that
Again,
You might feel strong
And whole.

It is letting it rain down on you,
Slurping it at your roots
So that it might replenish you,
Your thoughts and perspectives
And dreams may bloom
Again,
No more weeds blocking the connection
Between head and heart,
But instead
Wild flowers blooming
From every nook
Of your being
Bright and bold and beautiful.

And when we find the strength
To dip our heads under once more
And give ourselves
Effortlessly
To it's flow
Then,
And only then,
May we learn
To love
Again.