I long to introduce you to your better self.
Your artist, your apothecary, your alchemist.
Your architect, your drawer, your painter, your prophet.
I long to help you unlock your treaure chest
on the desolate beach
and run your hand over all your hidden gems
and pearls
like a rosary
until you pray to yourself when you are weak.
I long to introduce you to your stronger self.
The one that is tough as boot leather, yet welcoming.
I long for you to find kittens in the empty boxes of your soul
and play with them, running yarn as long as your arm
and smiling which each tottering step.
I long for you to feel the sun on your face, every day.
I long for you to wake up happy, held for a moment in an embrace
just before you wake up, whether I am there or not.
I long to introduce you to your better self, the one that smirks at magic tricks
and is amused but has the real thing in the back pocket.
I long to shake your hands free of the false things
that comfort you
Shake them out like grass clippings on a blanket
wrap you in wool
give you hot chocolate
and introduce you to the warm fire
of your own soul
which chases away the shadows for once
and for all.