Beloved Presence

By Ramsha Naushad

Hold me in your light as I walk this trembling edge

between daughter and dreamer,

between silence and the voice that must rise.

I place my heart before you

wounded, wild, and wise.

Let it be seen without shame.

Let it be heard without fear.

Where I feel unseen,

show me the eyes of love that do not flinch.

Where I feel unsafe,

be the breath that steadies me from within.

Where I feel too much,

remind me: I am vast enough to hold galaxies.

If I ask to be rescued,

let it not be weakness,

but the soul’s longing to be witnessed and companioned in the dark.

Help me forgive what I cannot understand,

and bless the ones who know not what they project onto me.

Let my pain not turn to poison,

but to poetry.

May I be brave enough to dream,

tender enough to grieve,

and true enough to belong first to myself.

And if love is meant to meet me on this path

let it come with clarity,

not confusion.

Let me be held,

not handled.

Let me be lifted,

not owned.

Let all things come in their time

and meanwhile,

let peace find me

exactly here.

Amen.

By Ramsha Naushad