I am a woman.

Wild,

complex,

made whole

by her contradictions.

I kiss you and cut you

in the same breath,

I breathe you in

and push you out

without batting an eye.

I ride waves you’re afraid of.

I swim in waters

that drink your dreams.

I kiss your lips

and leave a scent

you can’t conceive of.

I live in tides

that bridge you and me.

You draw me back

and pull me in

without breathing.

You offer shelter

in the harbors

of a closed off shore.

But my beauty, my breath,

is in the ocean.

I’m made alive by waters

you can’t explore.

Where is the lighthouse

that beams breath,

life,

love,

a home that inhales

the wave I ride in?

You, beloved,

You, dear stranger,

You exhale.

… you can’t breathe

the water I’m in.

So farewell my love,

farewell my friend,

farewell to washing into you.

I bid goodbye with a tender heart.

May loving tides fall upon you.

*****

Chelsea Roff is the founder of Eat Breathe Thrive, a nonprofit supported by The Give Back Yoga Foundation th

via Saying Goodbye To Unrequited Love. {poetry} | Rebelle Society.