My dear one-
you are
not bad,
or misshapen,
or ugly,
or wrong.

Please stop
running yourself
around in circles,
face pressed
downwards,
in an endless game
of dizzy bat.

Or you will
never see where
you are going:
and my dear one-
You have
places to go.

You have been
exactly what
you needed
to be
to survive
these times;
remember that.

And now that life
is giving you space
to learn
to walk free-
release your shames,
lay down those fears,
grab ahold of these days,
and learn
what it is,
to give yourself
permission to be.