strength

Never apologize for being you

~ ~M ~ 41 Comments

To apologize would say
I’m sorry for being me
and I will never be sorry
for who I am.

I could say I’m sorry
I didn’t live up to your expectations
but that would be telling a lie.

No, I’m quite happy with how I was
and I’m happy with how I’ve become.

I’m happy for every single thing
that I’ve done in my life.

I wouldn’t change a thing
because that would be erasing
who I am.

But there’s one thing
I am sorry about,
the fact that you couldn’t see
all the good inside of me.

© 2026 Michelle Cook

Photo generated with AI

To: me

~ ~M ~ 27 Comments

I see you
when nobody else does

I hear you
when the world goes quiet

I love you
for always being strong

I believe in you
when everyone else turns away

I know you’ll be ok
because in the end
you always are

© 2025 Michelle Cook

Photo generated with AI

Lonely

~ ~M ~ 18 Comments

Every now and then
I feel this word
even though I know
it sounds absurd

But lonely appears
so very often to me
think I might have
a chronic sensitivity

I often feel it’s power
like a magnet from within
the teardrops collecting
underneath my skin

I try to hold them back
But the pull is so strong
and what I know now
I’ve known all along

I let go of all my promises
seems I’m doing it again
this heart can’t help
but let loneliness win

Most think I’m doing great
I can smile like the rest
but if you look beneath
there’s trouble in my chest

The weight of sadness
suffocates my will
keeping me from everything
standing so still

I know I’m not the only one
so the tears I wipe away
burying them inside me
to live another day

© 2024 Michelle Cook

Photo generated by AI.

Thinking of you…

~ ~M ~ 12 Comments

I cannot count the ways
or measure the depth of my love for you.
Words escape all rational notions
when I try to convey my thoughts.
It’s like trying to describe
the scent of a rare fragrance,
or explain the inconceivable mysteries
that leave the world in awe.
You are simply the magic keeping me alive
when nothing else can.

© 2024 Michelle Cook

Image generated with AI

Life’s doorways

~ ~M ~ 17 Comments

There’s a doorway to destruction;
it seems to find me every day;
I take different paths to avoid it
and look for the merrier way.

There’s also a doorway to delight;
it finds me less than other doors;
oh, but when it does find me,
I’m sent up a hundred floors!

There’s a doorway to regret
and another that opens to grief;
thankfully, neither stays open long,
so that’s quite a relief.

There’s also a doorway to peace
and another that leads to fun;
both are best enjoyed
walking through with a bit of sun.

My favorite door of all
is the one that leads to love,
but I have to be open to finding it,
sometimes needing a little shove.

There’s a doorway to adventure,
one that I look for every day,
and when I eventually find it,
It’s like being on holiday.

Some doors are pretty,
and others I’m afraid to touch,
but those that are welcoming
always mean so much.

I’m excited yet cautious
to see where most of them go;
I know if I’m too afraid to open one,
I’ll never really know.

The right door for me
might be the wrong door for you;
I guess none of us will ever know
until we’ve opened quite a few.

I’m grateful for so many choices
and the opportunities to succeed;
I hope you find your door today,
the one you really need.

© 2022 Michelle Cook

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/doorway-beach-opening-entrance-981803/