This world was fighting me off long before I got here. So nail the boards up on the windows. Tape the seams. Bolt the locks. I’m only human and I’m not sure why that doesn’t feel like enough. And when I think back to footsteps that I try to follow in- all I can see are ghosts. But I know it’s so much more than that, it has to be. A beam came down from dark skies and turned the storm into a tunnel of light- you smiled again. That morning led me into hiding and I wake up in my own sort of grave. One where grief tries to break through- it leaves blood at my door and I scream back without thought. Until one day I decide to let light back in- I’ll be roaming spaces where the scared parts of me can live in peace. I’ll spread it into the earth like blooming wildflowers in spring. And if you call me damaged I’ll say thank you for recognizing the parts of me that decided to stay alive, even when they had no reason to. -AMT