HE’LL NEVER KNOW

MH Nasser, 2T6 WB

when i grasped what this meant, i put pieces of my self into lead boxes, welding them shut with gritted teeth and silent tears

then, i dropped them into the depths of my soul and fled, leaving them to freeze under layers of denial and the weight of an inescapable future

from time to time, the ice cracked, here and there but fear was an ever-present frost filling in the fissures as soon as they opened

but

the way you talk, the way you move, the way you breathe, the warmth of your heart beating under my hand

makes me want to jump into that frozen lake and tear open those boxes with bloody fingers

to show you the diamonds i find inside, forged from the dark ugly parts i once cast within.