The Fine Line of Yearning by Valerie Parente

Yearning is a fine line
between surviving and thriving
and somewhere along the line
I fell in love with the surviving
the journey to preserve myself
while trusting the timing
that the goal of something else
would be gratifying.

But I didn’t prepare for
the comfort of discomfort
finding home in the journey
finding peace in the yearning.
Waiting
preparing
learning
becoming the best me
and when I finally had my hands on all I dreamed
I couldn’t shake the feeling
that I wanted to go back to sleep.

But now I know who I am
and I know what I will carry with me
and I know closing that circle
is where that fine line completes.

– Valerie Parente (6-28-2026)