Love Poem: Loving Me First
Tyree Jackson Avatar
Written by: Tyree Jackson

Loving Me First

Stand in front of the mirror. 
And you look into your eyes.
Eyes, brown honeyed from a bee’s nest.
You tell that person—you love him.
You stare at your body. The body God made for you.
And you say, no matter what, you’ll cherish his thick size.
And his soft silk skin, stained with colorful open paths of beauty.
You tell yourself you’re beautiful.
You scream it!  Tell yourself that you’re strong. Say it!

Because it is his voice that whispers to you nightly: 
“I’ll always be there for you.”
Open the doors to your mind and let the confusion flutter away because:
Your pain shall not spill from self-inflicted cuts any longer.
And your pain shall not be filled within your stomach to be
flushed countless times down toilets.
It should blossom from your poetic voice.

Close your eyes child and say you’re independent.
Say you’re strong.
Breathe those words—let them flow from your mouth. 
Let them paint colors on your walls. Let them hug you.
That man in the mirror has stitched up your broken heart, time after time,
because you felt weak, because you believed you needed that somebody.
Well the needles and thread are all gone.

You toss and turn every night, shouting the names of souls that once tainted yours.
You scream, “Come back, come back.” With your tears and cold sweats containing 
“Pleases, I’m sorry, I’ll change” within them.
But why do you need to change? Why should you’ve to please somebody? 
You don’t need to change for anybody.

You need to love yourself first, before anything else
in the world; otherwise, you’ll never feel happy.
And your mind will forever be tainted by the perceptions
of those who want hurt you and use you.

So you stand in front of that mirror and you love what
you see, because if you want to continue on living in this
world of pain and suffering, the first person you need to
start loving is me.