Vulnerable

Thank you for sharing with me

some of your tender,

raw wounded places.

Surely the delicate flower of a young girl’s

innocence slowly blossoming

can be sorely ruptured

by the brutalizing forces

of those who feel nothing of it.

It was no wonder you shut down

then,

they treated you so badly.

You were not a thing to conquered;

a trophy to be won;

an object to be used;

another notch on a bed post

You were just a young woman

Standing on the brink

Hoping for the love of and connection to

a young man

too deeply wounded to ever be able

to treat your soul,

your Self,

your being

with the value

tenderness,

respect and empathy

it truly deserved.