I stayed single,
until I knew the difference
between attention that sparkled and faded
and affection that stayed when the screen went dark.
I waited until I no longer needed
someone else's words
to prove I was worthy.
I already was.
The love I gave my children,
the strength it took to rise each morning,
the peace I was building brick by brick
that was my proof.
I stayed single
until my life felt full
in the quiet moments,
until my home held laughter,
my weekends held joy,
my heart held calm.
I didn't wait for rescue.
I became my own arriving.
I stayed single
until the wounds had closed,
until I could speak of the past
without bleeding,
without bitterness,
without needing to convince myself
it wasn't that bad.
I waited until my boundaries
were not walls, but gates
ones I opened and closed
without guilt,
without fear,
without hesitation
when someone forgot
I was sacred.
I stayed single
until my children saw me
choosing peace over chaos,
teaching them by living it,
what love looks like,
what it feels like,
what they should never settle for.
I waited for the steady kind.
The kind that doesn't compete
with my peace,
but protects it.
The kind that feels like calm,
like safety,
like coming home
to a home I'd already built.
When that love came,
it didn't complete me
I was already whole.
It simply walked beside me,
steady and sure,
into the life I'd created
whilst I was brave enough
to wait.
