Harder to Hug

Don't tell her she is getting "Harder to hug"
Her body may be this bag of bones you speak of
But to me she will never mean so little
You stand in front of her and notice the crumbling corners of her smile
You shake every time she tries to move
For fear that her fragile bones will break
I stay wide awake when her eyes close
Counting her breaths
Hoping to something greater that it will let her chest rise and fall
And rise and fall and rise
Hoping that her dreams don’t take her back there
To the memories she should never have had to know
You see her life disintegrate before you
But maybe you have just opened your eyes
Goddamn it
I stand before her and see the corners of her smiles never crumbling
But growing, lighting up like stars to the constellation of her soul
My heart flutters with each step she takes, never fearing her breaking
But seeing her flying, seeing her catching her freedom
Maybe she’s been dreaming of fireflies
Yes, I still stand right beside her
In case she needs a break I’ll carry her
I’ll hug her
Unafraid of breaking her
Because maybe I still have a crazy hope
That my hug can heal her
At least for a minute, she would feel less pain
You will never be hard to hug
Even when the corners of your smiles have added a new constellation in the night sky
You will never be hard to hug.