We Hold These Truths (Letter To Zaftig)

We all push our way through
seas of faces,
looking for a pair of eyes
that glow for us.
We carve out niches.
Maybe for protection.
Perhaps self-sabotage.
Every once in a while
we all think,
"It does not exist for me."

We all know
what freedom is -
textbook definitions.
I wonder,
who really feels it?
I look at you,
and I see it swirl about you,
the aura you can't see.
But I watch you searching for it.
With your hands in the air,
thrown up in defeat.

Truth and happiness
do not reside in someone else's eyes.
What you must see
is that you hold liberty and love
in the palms of your hands.
It is yours to give,
there is no need to wait
for it to come to you;
you've held it all your life.

We all feel time,
often like a burden
every year that passes,
with every pair of eyes
that turn out not to shine
for you,
that freedom and love
does not diminish,
it encompasses you more
and strengthens the shield.

The truth is:
you are free.
And you embody love.
We all should be so lucky
to look into your beautiful,
shining, glowing eyes.