Today was different,

I didn’t feel like I was drowning

In a sea of my own tears.

The cold grip of shackles

That encompassed me

No longer bound me

To regret or remorse.

Hot wet tears

For the first time

Didn’t run down my face

Leaving tracks of sorrow behind them.

Today was different,

For the first time in a long time

I smiled

And it was real.