outside of me

Originally written in January of 2021.

I guess I just believed
that you were an
extension of me
but you are
becoming
you

and all your ways
I cannot contain
to fit wherever I
deem and decide
are in place

So how do I
reorient
you're not just
an addition
who you are is not
a disruption 
to who I am

You began
as life in me
but now I'm
starting to see
the beauty
that
you're growing
even outside of me

[you are your own
even as my own]

So how can I
let you
be who you are
love you always,
in all ways,
even when it's hard?

And how do I
let me
be who I am, too
simultaneously
coming into my own
as you become you

I'm grateful for
this body's capacity
to make life, give life
then watch it unfold
Her body, too
having capacity
to grow and push through;
Life-giving tendencies
once within me
now who is she
becoming
outside of me