Tough Love

There have been 27 years of history between this world me.  In my life, I have had the pleasure of loving many people.  I have also had the pleasure of receiving love from many beautiful souls.  Interestingly, I am just now finding the ability to truly understand what love means.
Of course, like most people who grew up at least semi-involved in church, I have always understood love to be as it is described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: patient, kind, selfless, soft. Honestly, I have always had this notion that love mostly exists in the gentle spaces. Until recently, I felt that love occupies the voids between the callouses of life experience and the harshness of our hurting parts.
But, now, I am learning that love can also flourish in those calloused spots, too. It is not only reserved for the glamour and the silk of pleasure. Love also expands into the grit and the toughness of imperfection. I hold love, stiff and determined, in the spaces of my spine when I am too prideful to be soft. I hold love, sharp and loud, in the swell of my voice when I am desperate to be heard. It lives at the base of my skull when I am trying to think of ways to overcome society’s obstacles.  It is in the bones of these fists, pounding and relentless for change.  Love is held, sharp and honest, between these teeth when the truth can do nothing else but be spoken.  
Love is all the things that make us titanic and powerful. It is urgent. It is strong. It will not be hushed. It is immovable.  Love is a force to be reckoned with.  ​

About Ashley Finley:
She is a 27 year old womanist who uses writing and poetry to share her story. She also feels that writing is a deeply cathartic experience and encourages other women and people of color to use writing as a way to understand, cope with, and celebrate their world.