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After a while
After a while you learn the subtle difference
between holding a hand and chaining a soul.
You learn that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't always mean security.
And you begin to learn
that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child.
And you learn to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns
if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone to bring you [paper page noise] flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
you really are strong, you really do have worth.
And you learn, and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn...
After a while by Veronica A. Shoffstall
*translation by Catia Lattanzi, free interpretation from "Y uno aprende" by Jorge Luis Borges
video and voice Cecilia Ferretti