By: Jen­nifer Tamplin

Once first loves have come and gone,
And mate­r­ial pos­ses­sions are lost and worn out,
One pair of earthly eyes will con­tinue to gaze long­ingly into yours,
That is, if you will allow her to.

When the con­se­quences of bad choices pan out,
And all out­ward means of com­fort and belong­ing­ness have been exhausted,
One source of ado­ra­tion can with­stand the shat­tered dreams and bro­ken promises,
That is, if you will allow her to.

Remem­ber how you used to love?
How ful­fill­ing it felt to illu­mi­nate and define his char­ac­ter with your sun­light,
That is, until you gazed into the mir­ror one day only to dis­cover a total eclipse of your soul.

If self-loathing begets inevitable fail­ure and dis­ap­point­ment,
What does self-love beget?
Remove your hands from his pedestal, and use your strength to ele­vate your own base high into the clouds.

Beyond the fog and obscu­rity of bro­ken rela­tion­ships,
There lies your first true love,
One who is unselfish, and who will lead you by the hand into an affair of self-discovery and self-worth.
Accept her even­tual pro­posal of life­time love and accep­tance, and your rela­tion­ship will serve as the basis for all gen­uine out­ward rela­tion­ships you will estab­lish in time.

This is what my very first true love taught me.