pax

Come back to me when you are strong,
when bark has grown over your broken stump and your branches stretch
to graze the clouds, and I

I will climb up into them, sturdy, fortified
no longer needing to fear the sky,
nor roaring winds, nor rushing tides.

Come back to me when you are whole,
when you are a darker shade of bold, and no longer turn your face
away
from lightning in the stormy night, or the brightest rays of a burning sun

and we will plant our roots deep in the ground
and know what it is to have climbed the tallest mountains
to have found each other at the top.