i hold her tightly

she stumbled into bones

that had been buried long ago,

games of shame to achieve gain

into womanhood, into being,

perfection at any rate, it ate

the flesh of her skin

with a ravenous bite

it ripped in

to feelings, never belonging

always longing,

her innocence,

grinding under tenacious teeth

shredded into strings of shifty cheese,

that no one could eat

I wonder if I could hold her

if I could share the moment

across two points in time,

knowing all I know now

and cradle her, clemently.

my comfort,

wraps around her

like the warmth of a thick wool blanket,

I sooth her supple skin,

carving constellations

in the galaxies of her cheeks

my soft voice croons in her ear,

“your wounds will heal”

she lives inside me,

I hold her tightly.