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In celebration of Marla Taviano’s whole: poems on reclaiming the pieces of ourselves and creating something new, we thought we’d offer a poem that is perhaps a good starting point of the whole idea in whole: finally and deservedly realizing you have to start by taking of yourself. Congrats Marla. 

j-o-y

Jesus first

yourself last

others in between

 

for years and years

I denied myself and

picked up my cross

 

loved god

loved Jesus

loved my husband

 

my kids

my church

my neighbors

 

and if there was

anything left,

I’d love me

 

too bad there

was never

anything left

 

This article is an excerpt used with permission from whole: poems on reclaiming the pieces of ourselves and creating something new.

Marla Taviano

Marla Taviano is into books, love, justice, globes, anti-racism, blue, gray, rainbows, and poems. She reads and writes for a living, wears her heart on her t-shirts, and is on a mission/quest/journey to live wholefarted (not a typo). She’s the author of unbelieve: poems on the journey to becoming a hereticjaded: a poetic reckoning with white evangelical christian indoctrination, and other books. She lives in South Carolina with her four freaking awesome kids and two adorable cats. Find out more at marlataviano.com.