The Runner

Words can heal wounds

Thoughts can cage minds

Active listening tells all

The heart is your guide

I listened to my love

He told me

he likes to be chased

I asked, "Is that right?"

It wasn’t my favorite

game to play

But I always run toward

what I want in life

He told me

he struggles

to be vulnerable

He struggles

to express his feelings

I said,

"It's been hard for me

but it's liberating."

I choose freedom

over fear

He berated me

for how I confront

difficult emotions

Head on

Like a goat

climbing

a vertical cliff

I asked him

how he deals with his

He said,

"I run."

He runs toward the sun

and wonders why

his shadows

still chase him

He asked me

about my solutions for anger

I told him

I release it from my grip

with plates I shatter

against stone

A stack of them

from the thrift store

I scream

I sing

Then I sweep up

the shattered pieces

I meditate

I breathe

I come back home

inside my bones

and rest in the warmth

of my fire lit soul

I asked him

how he deals with his

He said,

"I sleep."

And he wonders why

his past still haunts him

Why his dreams exist

as nightmares

Why his head is still hot

and his finger quick

to pull the trigger

He told me

he has trouble loving himself

He's troubled by imperfection

He struggles to own

the entirety of his existence

Everything that makes him whole

he has resisted

I told him

I own that I'm human

Humans make mistakes

I accept all parts of me

Like caring for a child

I love unconditionally

It gives me

courage to change

It helps me

break the chains

of the past

So I can live

in the present

So I can love me

as I am

He told me

he was avoiding

his feelings for me

That way

when I left

it wouldn't hurt

as much as it did

He told me

he didn't care for me

as much as I did for him

That way

he could feel

in control of things

Unlike the uncontrollable feelings

that burst forth when

his mother had passed on

The uncontrollable feelings

he has caged behind

his fear cemented walls

He apologized

for getting me

wrapped up

in his human mess

He still doesn’t

fully understand

the depth of all of it

It hurt to hear his words

I didn't know exactly what to say

But I accepted

the truth of his path

& respected him

for owning where he’s at

I didn't know exactly what to say

but I think I said something nice

Because I loved him unconditionally

every part of him

good, bad, and out of sight

I hope one day

he fearlessly faces

his shadows

so he can see the light

I hope one day

he realizes

that his sharp judgments

are a form of self-sacrifice

I have faith

he will find the light

That he will learn

love is acceptance

love stands tall

within strife

love is what

lifts us up

to new heights

It's the earth

beneath our feet

It's our wings

in the sky

I have faith

he will learn

Then he will fly

Free from the cage

of his mind

I have faith

he will learn

the truth of life

Love is energy

Love never dies

Love is eternal

Love frees your life

Love is uncontrollable

Love is untamed

Love is liquid

it takes many shapes

Love transforms

all fears and pain

Love is the alchemist

and you are the stone

Love is the power

that transmutes iron to gold