Walking Love - Poem
A poem about loving
A note about this poem: A reader asked me, “Is this about romantic love, friendship, or something else.” I guess it is all of those and more. Mostly, my “love work” these days is learning to better love myself. It’s hard work and good work. I recommend it.
-Kim
Walking Love
It is not gentle, this work of love.
Barefoot balance on gravel,
each step a hush of pain,
each breath a prayer for steadiness.
We walk
because stillness wounds as well.
We walk for the soft curve of a smile,
for the light flickering behind tired eyes,
for the tether that binds us
to something more than self.
We walk
for the shape we are becoming.
On the best days,
our labor leaves beauty,
hairline fractures where grace gathers,
shadows playing with light
like laughter tucked in stone.
But some days,
the chisel slips.
The blow goes deep.
Pain marks too quickly...
old before we can name it,
calluses grown in silence,
twisting us without consent.
We walk
through what has marked us.
So we must choose carefully,
holy in the choosing.
For to dance too long
in the land of ancient cuts
is to forget the shape we came with,
to mistake endurance for becoming.
And yet,
some loves sculpt back.
With open hands and mirrored ache,
they trace us gently,
carving not wounds but wonder,
returning us to our own outline.
How do we know the difference?
We don’t.
Not always.
∞
It is not gentle, this work of love.
So we dance anyway...
bruised, barefoot,
still walking,
but not alone.
©2026 Kim Williams, M.Div.
“For to dance too long
in the land of ancient cuts
is to forget the shape we came with,
to mistake endurance for becoming.”
Wise and beautiful reflection on the journey. Thank you, Kim!
Beautiful and calm remembering the storms. "carving not wounds but wonder, returning us to our own outline." Lovely