I Am Not Bothered Anymore. Thank You. Poem by Frank Walley

**Do You Want to Know What's Not Bothering Me Anymore? **

Let me tell you what's not bothering me anymore...

It wasn't you.

You weren't cruel.
You weren't broken.
You weren't the love I was meant to spend my life chasing.

You were simply not good for me.

And that doesn't make either of us the villain.

Thank you...

Thank you for saying goodbye when I couldn't.

Thank you for not settling for a love that wasn't enough for either of us.

Thank you for the silence that finally made me hear myself.

Thank you for the hurt that forced a boy to become a man.

Because somewhere between losing you and finding myself...

I found her.

I love the way she looks at me...
like she's already home.

I love saying her name,
because it sounds like peace instead of longing.

I love walking beside her,
because neither of us is trying to catch the other.

I love that she sees every flaw I've earned
and still reaches for my hand.

I love hearing our children laugh
and realizing that's the sound I'd been searching for all along.

I love that our house is loud,
our table is full,
and our hearts are quiet.

I love that I don't wonder if I'm enough anymore.

I love that she never had to rescue me.

She simply met the man
your goodbye gave me the chance to become.

So if our paths ever cross again,
I hope you've found your peace too.

Because I have.

And I finally understand...

The love I was begging for
would have kept me from the love I was built for.

Back then,
I thought I was waiting to find you again.

I was wrong.

I was waiting to find her.

And, in the process...

I finally found me.