POETRY: Open Your Arms

I can never know the depth of your suffering

I can ask

I can listen

I can touch

And I can see

The look on your face,

it mystifies me.

The sarcasm laid bare on your lips,

your eyes a dark shroud.

A barrier for all the world to see.

A darkness lurks behind the curtain

It kidnaps your emotions

Demands a ransom too steep to pay

To take away the pain

But…

It doesn’t have to be.

For we can walk hand in hand

Through that forest where wild things grow

You can point to the serpents and poison berries

I can show you the sapling

under the arms of the giant sequoias

Protected from the harsh winds

Until its roots spread,

under solid ground.

Let the hungry birds eat the berries

And the snake rest in the shade

It is not the strong who survive

But the ones who see purpose

The forest is dark but there is light

If only a sliver to let in the day

Open your arms

Let me help you find the way.