Embrotic memories of a time
Pieced together and stitched
An incomplete puzzle
From the childhood nightmare
Like reflections
In shattered glass
Staring back

The child stares at me
Probably wondering, curious
Questioning how this came to be
When the memories push
Catapulting me into the present

A journey built on a foundation
Always seeming to crumble
With every step, splitting
Between right and the conditioning
Depression looms, drowning darkness
I see the light, diffused above
Reaching I gasp, crying

Shadows twist and tangle
From the weeds pulling me back
A touch, gentle, a grip
Takes my hand, pulling
My face breaks the surface

A lover's kiss, no
The Lover's Kiss, Devine
Breaks my lips
Breathes, gives, sparks life
Hope
That takes me from the edge
Dispels darkness, clears for light

Forever I'll struggle
Tempted by others
Taunted by the past
Threatening to topple
I am resolved to stand

The shell is broken
My child grins, plays
In my shadow, my present
Gives, providing her safety
Not then, but now,