11th Commandment Poem by Terry Haugh

‘You shall not hate . . . Yourself’
A written law in heaven,
Is seldom written in our hearts
when as children, we are driven....
By shame and fear, and words that tear
small hearts, to shreds and ribbons. You shall not not hate . . . Yourself
T’ is poison on the soul,
Brings destruction like a whirlwind
and darkness, thick and cold,
It saps our strength for living
keeps us from being whole! You shall not hate . . . Yourself
the thought many deny,
Yet we treat ourselves so poorly
hiding from family lies.... and
How foreign are the nurturing words
heard from our own insides. You shall not hate . . . Yourself
no matter what's been done,
This Pattern must be broken
before the battle's won,
Self-care . . . the right beginning
Feels so wrong when first begun,
And learning to love ourselves, my friend,
can be a long and painful fun!