Last week, I celebrated two years of sobriety.  A huge milestone for me.  There were many times during those 730 days when I thought I wouldn’t make it.  But I did.  I chose to share a poem by Maya Angelou since she had just passed.  It seemed particularly fitting.  

 

Touched by an Angel

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love’s light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free. 

-Maya Angelou

I thought about attempting to write about what this poem means, but I realize that it means something different to everyone and that I could never do it justice.  It speaks volumes.  I’ll leave it at this:  I have been touched by many angels on this journey and I am beyond grateful to every single one.