So often I had proudly said,
"I love my neighbor,"
(remembering the healing thoughts I'd fed
to friends in need,
the honor shown to parents,
the kindness shown to strangers,
the unselfed sacrifices in my day).
But this was not enough,
and in its quiet, heartfelt way
the Christly message came:
"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
Then I saw how incomplete
the circle of my love had been—
I'd felt no love for me.
Self-condemnation, doubt, inadequacy,
criticism's barb and fear's debris
had bound my thought.
