A post shared by Audrey Reid (@awaudrey) on Sep 25, 2016 at 8:20am PDT

You of little faith,  
thank you for doubting,
for being reluctant,
and for not believing
in us.

Thank you for not compromising,
for being stubborn,
for not listening,
for being impatient.

Thank you for following your dreams
and putting an end to ours.
Thank you for the wasted time.
Thank you for the disillusionments.

Thank you for being scared
of what the future might bring.
Thank you for being terrified
of where our love might lead us.

Thank you for the emotional distance,
the instability,
and the disappointments.

Above all,
thank you for ending us
before we even began.

You’re like a bird
that mistook a man
for a scarecrow
and flew far away.

You’re like a thirsty man in a desert
that mistook water
for a mirage
and resumed walking

If you got closer,
you would have realized
that there’s no scarecrow…
It’s only a man.

If you got closer,
you would have found out
that there’s water
to quench your thirst.

Thank you for not taking
a step forward
and for not amplifying
our uncertainty.

Thank you for teaching me
what love is.
Thanks to you,
I’ve become hopeful and strong.

Thanks to you, I’ve learned
how to compromise
and to appreciate
patience.

Because of your fear,
I have become fearless.
Because you ended us,
I have just begun.

In your own doubts
I have found my faith.
In your fear of the unknown
I have built my den.
I have become the opposite of everything that you are.

Thank you for being you,
because I have just become me.

~

Author: Elyane Youssef

Image: @awaudrey on Instagram; awaudrey.com

Editor: Caitlin Oriel