A Heart's Dilemma

You know your heart is big,  

When it aches for the ones you leave behind,  

Even as you step toward the light,  

Carving a path that's solely yours to find.  

A tug of guilt, a whisper of shame,  

For choosing yourself, for staking your claim.  

The echoes of others, their needs, their cries,  

Linger like clouds in your boundless skies.  

Yet the heart knows, as tender as it feels,  

That self-love heals what time conceals.  

To walk away is not to betray,  

But to honor your truth in a humble way.  

For how can you give what you do not own?  

How can you build when you're worn to the bone?  

A big heart learns, though it stings to part,  

That loving yourself is the truest art.