Your metaphoric flowers

 In a world where everyone and their cat has an opinion on who I should be

It appears that everyone and their dog knows which version of me I should be

I was swayed and moved a million different directions

I have lived four and five versions of who I thought I should be

I wasn't thinking

I wasn't expecting you

You're so sure of who you are

You are confident and self assured in your own beautiful way

Experiencing you, your way of life required nothing of me, because you are enough

You had no opinion of what would make me better or which way I should act to be more acceptable and lovable

You didn't need anything from me and that gave me room to discover who I wanted to be

In your sun, I found that I too could be enough

I too could be sure of myself

Here are your metaphoric flowers

While you are still alive I want to say thank you for being yourself

I am deeply grateful to experience what it means to be enough

I am rediscovering the lessons I learned without realizing that I was absorbing.

Being your friend helped me find myself

The old voices are still shouting and trying to change me

I pay them little mind.

I am me.