I know who I am now.
No performance.
No loud bravado.
I no longer pretend to be something I am not
just so someone else can feel comfortable.
Fifty years teaches you something.
The requirement for you to like me
is no longer on my list.
I show up as myself.
Soft where I choose
and solid where I stand.
I believe in people because I want to.
Because I still think most hearts mean well.
But the moment I hear
you have spoken ill of me
in a room I wasn’t in.
Twisting words and
cheapening my name.
Then the trust dissolves.
There is no second chance.
I don’t rebuild bridges
someone else
set on fire.

Looking ahead to the new year, one of the things I would like to do more of in the coming year is to journal. 

Some days that might look like a photo, other days a post and yet other days a short poem. 

All a glimpse into where I am in the moment. 

Social media is the junk food of creativity.”
— Austin Kleon, Show Your Work! (2014)

As I embark on what lies ahead, I know that I want to keep a record of it.

This is that. 

Thanks for coming along.