Belief

Our beliefs inform our reality.
I know this to be true.

There is some piece of me, still,
Who believes tragedy is a must in my life.

Twenty-five years of suffering,
twenty-five of joy,
and then back again,
is the belief.

You’d think, for how many generations of suffering came before me,
I’d find it easy to believe that all my hard work means I’ve earned a joyous life.

It is not so,
unfortunately.

This belief can be changed, though.
Change it I must.

I refuse to allow the presence of this belief to beget twenty-five more years of suffering.

On this day,
let the seed be planted,
I have earned this life.
I deserve joy.

May joy take root and be nourished by the soil around it.
May this seed grow with fervent abundance so all might be in awe of her splendor.
May her lushness be ever apparent, as if the divine planted her herself.

In many ways,
I am divinity.
In others,
I am only a woman.

Is there a difference?

I suppose, it depends
on your beliefs.