A Tear Remembers

Shivering on my cheek,
A tear remembers
Your eyes
Like flowers on fire
Petals scorched under an iron
Pain painted on your irises
Like wet blood stains
From wounds that never
Stop bleeding.

Within the pools of blood
Fear stood
With its arms outstretched
Vulnerable
Its eyes wide open
Eyes like flowers on fire.

Behind the fear
Your soul crouched like a child
Your sweet, longing, gentle soul
That ached for acceptance
That was meant for love
And loving.

But it can't love
Locked far behind
A steel door of pain
An iron lock of fear
As if a prison could protect
A soul from feeling.

Swiftly
I stretched a beam of love
Through your flowers on fire
And caught a spark of your spirit
Before it vanished
Behind its wall.

I remember your essence
Your tender, lovely splendor
And hold it
Wistfully, warmly
In the tear
That quivers forever
On my cheek.

@ Tess Harvester 2013