
I can do it by myself.
I’m a self-made man.
Asking for help is weak.
Falling under the heavy weight of burdens borne far too long is failure.
The truth is,
I can’t do it alone,
any of it.
Neither can you.
We need each other.
I need you and
you need me.
The truth is,
unless you changed your own diapers,
and fed from your own breasts,
and taught yourself how to read,
and put out your own fires,
and set your own bones,
and blessed your own bread and wine,
you are not self-made.
The truth is,
I am in you, and
you are in me, and
the sky, sea, and earth
feed me and everything else,
warm me,
heal me,
hold me.
The stories we tell ourselves.
I love you and
you love me, and
you are the warm sun on my face,
the soft breeze that tickles my nose,
the strong arms that carry me,
the heart that beats in rhythm with mine.
The truth is,
I need you and
you need me and
that is the story we tell ourselves.
© Christine Salkin Davis, 2017
Originally published at christinesdavisphd.blogspot.com on July 27, 2017.

