12/23/2025
A Quiet Invitation
There is a quiet knocking
beneath my heart,
a tender ache that does not beg ~
but is waiting….
It is the longing to be seen
without armor,
to have the soft places noticed
and held with care.
To be loved
not for the shine I offer the world,
but for the tremble in my voice
when I speak my truth.
To be valued
not by what I give or achieve,
but by the simple miracle
of my being here.
This is the invitation:
to step forward as I am,
unhidden, unfinished, real.
To let another witness me
and not turn away.
To let myself believe
I am worthy of your gaze.
No grand arrival is required ~
only the courage
to open the door
and say, I am here.
And still, the question lingers ~
soft as breath against my skin:
Will you stay?
When my shadows stretch long
and my light grows tired,
when old fears speak louder
than my hope.
Will you still love me
when I falter,
when the carefully held pieces loosen
and fall?
When the parts I hide
ask to be seen too ~
the doubt, the ache,
the places still learning how to trust.
Can you sit with the whole of me,
the glow and the grief,
the rising and the retreat,
without asking me to choose?
This is the deeper invitation:
to be met in all my seasons,
to be loved not despite my shadows,
but alongside them.
To hear you say, gently,
I see it all ~
and I am not leaving,
I am here….
~ Tammy Barton
12/23/25
Artwork created by yours truly
