self-doubt

doubting the self

my student writes of doubt, of despair,

all hidden behind his tight smile,

my student write of living past her own doubts

by letting her love reach out to embrace another,

there is a sweet gentleness,

a belief in the wholeness, 

in the wonder of the other,

that many of us can give,

and give joyously, continuously,

yet it is woefully hard to give

that unconditional love to ourselves,

we need the friend, the partner,

so that the foundation of who we are

finds a footing that can endure

the buffeting, the buffeting, the buffeting,

that self-doubt throws and throws at us.

by Henry H. Walker
November 16, ‘18