Words To Treasure: Comes the Dawn by Veronica A. Shoffstall *Lauren Giglio

I re-discovered some words I treasure. It was hidden among the multitude of notes, notices, reminders and other bits of paper collected in a box.

The poem first showed up in my life more than ten years ago. Since then, it seems to always come at a timely moment. Sent to me recently by my good friend and mentor Dorothy Connolly.

Having found it again, I did a little research to find out who the author was. Veronica A. Shoffstall is the most accredited author. However it may have originally been written in Spanish by Jorge Luis Borges, an author from Argentina. There is also someone called Judith Evans who claims to be the author, never had it copyrighted and was quite happy for it to be published under  ‘Author Unknown.’ Unsurprisingly, the poem goes by various names: ‘Comes the Dawn’, ‘After a while’ and ‘You Learn.’

These words touched me deeply when I first found them and still touches me now. Every now and then I come back to this poem. It's like a little reminder. I hope you enjoy them too.

After a while you learn the subtle differenceBetween holding a hand and chaining a soul. And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning. And company isn’t security. You learn that kisses aren’t contracts. And presents aren’t promises, And you begin to accept your defeats With your head up and your eyes open With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child. And you learn to build all your roads on today, Because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans,And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight. After a while you learn That even sunshine burns if you get too much or stand too long in one place. So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure…That you really are strong, And you really do have worth.You learn that with every good-bye comes the dawn.