safe

I used to carry around a wooden heart—

It was crafted from broken boards and rusted nails, pieces of shipwrecks I barely survived.

It never fit quite right in my chest, and hadn’t felt safe on my sleeve for a long time.

But I still tried.

Love is the only faith that I truly have left, and I’ll hold onto it until my final breath—

And you now have shown me that flesh and bone can regrow, that there is always more, and that my heart is safe from rocky shores.

I still set sail and I still press on;

I place my new heart back inside my chest, back upon my sleeve,

Not because I know for certain I won’t crash again, that the sails could never rip,

That the clash of the rain won’t tear me down,

That I could never again be drowned,

But because there is still so much more to see, so much more to know,

And my compass will always guide me to my true north, and I will always follow it home.

__________________

JK