Within the ruins that surround me, I walk like a child dazed and lost. Like the withering parched grass, I fade with the passing of time, hope kicking in the dust. My eyes are weary as they search the empty room of my heart where you once lived. The wind blows shut the door to my heart, leaving a hollow echo. I remain imprisoned in the form of flesh and bone while a feeble light of life still glows within me. I walk the face of the earth while the ache inside me is much too heavy to carry and my pain too deep to escape. Yet, my heart feels not the weight of pain, for I retain not the capacity for pain. I have cut off from such feelings, hoping to avoid the conflict within.

The heart is as small as a fist, but the power it gives to the body is great….such is the heart of my flesh, beating a rhythm against my chest. Stifling is the air I breathe, heavy with the burnt smell of dying dreams and past ambitions. Like a frightened child, I run. I flee the embers burning my shoes and scorching my skin. Wild with despair, I hurry on, heedless of the soot clinging to my legs and the ashes streaking my cheeks.  I stop to take a deep breath, and to get some rest.

What is it that I seek? Why do I run from the emptiness inside me? I am imprisoned by my flesh and I must carry my burdens forever, it seems.

Between two worlds, I stand: the world of love and the world of hate.  I acknowledge my loneliness. Hate beckons to me. With enticing arms, the great god hate dances before my empty heart. Blackness calls to blackness, but my soul struggles against the

feelings of darkness. I yearn to touch the light. My feet grow weary and my body still yearns for rest. I faint from the conflict inside me.

I  awake to the light. The brightness blinds me. When I can, I open my eyelids again to stare into eyes the color of the sky. I am held in the strongest of arms. Hands wash the soot from my face with clear cold water and I am given a cup to drink from. The water quench’s my thirst. Hands smooth the lines from my forehead and fingers wipe the tears from my cheeks. My feet are bathed in clear water. I am rocked in the tenderest arms. Love surrounds me. Desolation leaves the room of my heart which is now filled with light. Peace enfolds me.

Yu/stan/kema (age 12)