I may stand straight and proud,
Unwelcome,
A prickling threat to those who venture near;
Reserved and self-contained, the sharded sum
Of childhood spent attaining a veneer.
Yet look beyond the surface, to a heart
That I have cut out night and night afore;
To ease the choke of reminiscence’ smart
And yet, by morning, it is full once more.
Dark wields the blade of fear and of regret,
Despondency and bleakness to excise;
But come the day, my dawning sense is met
With love’s sweet surging, burgeoning sunrise.
Have patience, and my cactus heart will bear
Life-giving sap that heals the cuts we share.