I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after
the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.~ Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 (NIV)

You like my poetry?
These silly baubles? They’re nothing.
Don’t look at me. Don’t see what I’ve done.
I know you’ll see I’m a fraud.
Your kind words can’t be meant,
just platitudes,
white lies playing nice.
How can my work have merit?
A wise woman said
I should love myself
as I am.
She claimed
I’d never like the new
improved
me
otherwise.

God, teach me to love myself
as I love my neighbor,
as I love you.