my mom always told me

you are gold

when I forgot

how precious I was

because that dumb boy

didn't know how to commit

because he didn't know

how to love 

because I was stuck on the idea 

that if he couldn't love me

then I couldn't be loved

as if it were my fault 

that he was incapable 

of such an emotion 

as if the love from another human being

determined my self-worth 

but I now understand 

that my mom constantly said 

you are gold

as a way to remind me 

that the best form of love 

comes from no one

but myself.