The Battle Is Already Won

I didn’t know healing could feel

Like your own hands

Finally learning how to touch you gently

For so long

I braced for impact

Even in empty rooms

But tonight

I sit with myself

The way you sit with someone you love

Slowly

Without rushing their breath

Letting the silence soften

Instead of sharpen

I trace the places that once hurt

They don’t flinch anymore

They lean in

They trust me

That feels like victory

There were nights I folded into myself

Like a letter no one would read

I’m opening now

Crease by crease

The words are still tender

Still mine

I don’t need applause for this

Just the quiet truth

That I stayed

Even when leaving myself

Would’ve been easier

And in that staying

In that small

Trembling loyalty

I realize something simple

Something soft as a hand on my back

The battle is already won

Because I’m finally on my own side.