Kissed Back

You walk as if you are an ache
Simply mass upon the Earth
Here to use and take
Delegating the space you deserve

Until you began to wonder
What if the wind likes to kiss me back?
What if the ocean desires to hold me?
What if the stars adore staring back?

Now you walk and feel the mountains smile
Remembering you’ve always been part of the same pack

Intimately orchestrated
And oh so delicately choreographed

There’s a reason
Deep down you roar with thunder
The same way you feel called to cry when it rains
Recognize your own rays in the sunlight
Because inside, you’ve always been buzzing with the same delight

But sure
You can act naive
Never allowing in
The love that’s always been around you

It’s much too painful to see clearly
All the times
You were too smart that you missed it

Or
Maybe just once
You can let all the noise dissolve
And surrender just enough
To be kissed back

• Kissed Back, Written by Amanda Crocitto

To my younger self, future self, and every woman I’ve been in between 

To your younger self, future self, and every woman you’ve been in between 

You are Love(d).

New Jersey, Sept 2025.