I thought I was doing the very best thing

By wrapping her tightly with paper and string,

Layers and layers of protection I gave her

All with the hope and intention to save her.

See, I couldn’t afford for her to break anymore

Because she would shatter completely and out it would pour,

All of my thoughts, my fears my dreams and desires

Would rage uncontrollably like the fiercest of fires

I remember the first time my heart truly tore

Saying goodbye to my father as he walked out the door,

And as I grew older more love came and went

My heart she suffered, with her scratches and dents,

But I wrapped her too tightly with anger and fear

She was unshakeable, untouchable, no chance she could tear,

So the pain became less, barely leaving its mark

But any feeling of love was left out cold in the dark.

For years I starved her, kept her hungry and wasting

The self-made prison that I left her encased in,

Then one day she started to grow too big for her wrap

The paper layers tore and I heard the strings snap.

She was bursting through, breaking herself free

Shedding the layers that I’d clung to so tightly,

My ego resisted, trying to push her back in

But she scratched and she clawed and came out burning.

And then she grew, beyond all comprehension and measure

Filling every part of me with a deafening pleasure,

And in that moment I surrendered, humble in her presence

For love is all of me, the whole of me, my core and my essence.