How Do I know you, my daughter?

 

Was it just yesterday
my annoyance gave way
to an indulgent smile
at the childish squiggles,
the playful scrawl
upon the walls?

Today
the marks
you etch upon your wrists
are no child’s play.

The cruel beauty of your scars;
does it hide
the ugliness
you feel inside,
or does it scream your rage,
your pain?

What is this howling of your heart
that I hear,
 and heed
but cannot help
can not heal?
What is this wound within your self
my words can not soothe,
my tears can not bathe?
What is this thirst of yours  I cannot slake?
What is this hunger I can not feed?

Please,
don’t slip and slide,
alone,
in shadows beyond mine.

The knife you take upon yourself
to slash your skin,
turn it out,
slice my soul.
So I may take you in,
see you in me
see me in you,
perhaps
give you
my laughter,
my love,
my light,
my life.

 

August 2018