Peoples’ love for me shifts, like the direction smoke drifts from a campfire,

Can’t find value from inside so I seek affirmation from their desire.

I strive to please them for only then am I whole,

When they demand even more, I can’t say no.

Then one night they swore I wasn’t enough,

I go over if I could have done more to earn their love.

Worthless, I lie in the grass,

A book of inspirational quotes propped on my lap.

Most of them have a common theme,

Love yourself, they say, don’t rely on others for self-esteem.

I’m faced with a choice I don’t want to make,

But if I don’t, I know soon I will break.

Love myself or let my value change like the weather,

Depend on others or strive for something better.

I choose a battle worthy of heroes,

Words are weapons and disapproval like arrows.

It’s a war between the world and my heart,

And I’m emerging triumphant and won’t fall apart.

Now I’m free of others’ opinions of me,

Secure in who I am and what I should be.