Tenderness

When you hold my heart

When you treat it tenderly

Then you teach me something

So important

About love

When I see on your face

A soft look

Instead of the harsh glare

Or wary look of suspicion

And disgust

So familiar to my soul

My entire body can relax

And is no longer tense

Poised for attack or flight

In fear

 When I feel this safety

Then I can let go

And find a resting place

And my entire being feels healed

Contained within the ocean of your presence

This is not something I was ever given

As a child

And all along the ancestral line

That torment repeated

As my ancestors took flight

Now tenderness is something

I must learn

Giving it to myself

And to others too

A belief that life can be safe

And that we can trust

In the strong feminine healing power

Of tenderness and love