Proper adult
a poem about healing
Your vessel has long held too much No wonder you are leery, resistant to stirring old currents now settled trapped Born with the strength of armor and a shield You once know who you could be were meant to be Like Athena now in marble suspended If you wake, oh… such wisdom, such power could be rendered But something would have to die for you to emerge wasted years, frozen tears, memories of forebears Your ghostlike presence translucent hands, floating above blank pages at our writing desk waiting for a proper adult to trust your heart Instead, I stand here after leaving for so long our dreams in your care a heavy burden to bear too weak, too afraid unable to unfreeze without a proper adult there I stand before you, promising you can trust me. But how could you? When my heart has wintered in many seasons And I’m as frightened as you How wise you’ve become left to solitude to ponder what could have been You look within and see the melting the shell cracked, the humbling You catch my eye in the mirror, and we’ve made a start Writing will set us free Your words, my words to a heart that is learning to trust a proper adult
This is wonderful. A poem of true healing together.
I stayed with the image of trust that doesn’t arrive all at once, but grows word by word. Sometimes writing is what gently reminds us we can come home to ourselves.