Streams of Comfort

Hatred is a difficult topic to write about. To think about. It’s such a human thing. Something we experience even as children, so it seems tied to us. A lot of people say hate is the opposite side of the same coin as love. Or that hate can often turn into love. But I think that’s just what the world says to justify doing awful things to each other. For me, I often feel, after introspection and prayer, that any hatred I project towards others usually comes from a place of hating myself. This poem is a reflection of that. That often, the hate we give comes from a place of lacking in ourselves. However, when I remember that God is healing us from the inside out, I find that love triumphs over hate. 

Sometimes I find it hard to love myself
So I take my hatred out on others.
It’s a toxic trait we all share.
More human than breathing.

We think that self- help will help
But if I could fix my problems on my own
I wouldn’t need you so much.

Tell me that I’m worth it
That all the shadows are on the outside.
It’s what I want to hear most from you.

Even when the clouds disperse.
Even when you tell me that and hope for the best
I can’t hear your promises.
Especially when I hate you and you know.
My shortcoming, not yours.

Oh imperfect, human soul with a cracked heart.
I want to love you but I can’t.
Let the light in but I can’t.
The echo of what I could have been
Slams shut against the window sill.

I’d rather stand in the rain of tomorrow.
The drops of living water,
Flowing into my broken heart like the greatest mercy.
Healing me, for a short while.
Transforming me, forever.

Alice R.