i am not a stop on the way to something greater
i am not the quick doctor visit to bandage your open wounds
or the witch in the woods with magic in her blood.
i am not the aftermath
--from the great love
i am not second best or second thought,
i am not a vacation
or holiday
or hiding place
i am the final destination
the home you’ve always been searching for.
the safe place to land.
i am the journey you are on
not just a quick chapter.
i am not an escape,
an illusion,
a fantasy
i am all that is breakingly vulnerable, achingly magnetic, magnificently tender,
Real.