Shadows

She'd been hurt before, long before, and put that pain away

She locked it tight, stuffed it down, put it in a box to rot and stay

She'd moved to the forest, far from others, to quiet and peace and calm

But at night she'd hear the scratching, thumping, and knew it wasn't gone

So she did what all girls do when faced with monsters on the loose

She grabbed her jacket and set her course through the fir, the pines, and spruce

Through the woods she padded, bare feet silent upon moss and moonlit beams and shadows

She spotted the blackened creature, hearing it's dark whispers from the gallows

Without a sound, she crept up closer, holding her breath and stretching out her hand

Small as a feline and quicker to jump, she missed over and over again

They moved deeper and further into the wood, a hunt to capture this secret, this hurt

Yet each time she'd come close, she'd lose it again, grasping air, moonbeams, and dirt

The dawn began breaking, pouring over the hills and dripping rays through the trees

The girl sat on the earth, shuddered, and wept, wrapping her shivering arms round her knees

A small touch on her elbow jerked her head up, before her was the creature still as could be

As she looked at the inkiness, the blackened amorphous shape, she suddenly said, "why, you look like me!"

She picked up her pain, so long put away, marveling at it's duplicitous face

At one time it was hateful, but mostly seemed scared, desperately seeking a place

Overwhelmed with compassion, the girl felt relief; this was no monster seeking it's pound of flesh

This was a moment when love wasn't given, when protection was stolen and childhood fresh

She felt in that moment that she'd not lost her pain, but left it to fester and rot

She knew then too that what she did next...mattered a lot

"You have a place," she said softly, and opened her heart, welcoming the pain to it's home

"Now that I know you are part of me, you are a hurt and a pain that is known."

She carried her creature, no longer the hunter nor hunted in the woods

And her heart grew bigger and stronger from then, as hurt held in love only could