i was asked if i find comfort in my misery
             as if sadness is a part of me

and for the first time in a while, i cracked a smile --
            and light shone through the gaps between my teeth
spilling truth onto polished wood
  and knowing i was understood

the matte felt blackness around my heart
  the cold abhorrence
        padlocked behind a push-pull door
that always falsely blocks exertion
                                 despite direction

crumbling walls with little force
                  just push a bit, and you'll get more

than you asked for.