Four.

I thought I could                                                       stand
tall against your chest,
unwavering in that loving gaze
that played with my heart
so viciously, so tenderly

until you asked me to                                               sit
next to you on the top
of the blue wire mesh
of a picnic table
beside that quiet lake

and you did your best to                                          catch
me as I tumbled from my
safety place into your
safety net, your safety arms,
a sacred place against your neck

because it hurt so much to                                    release
all those shattered pieces
from that bag of bones
that was my fragile body,
the shell you grew to love.