I keep my heart encased inside a cage of fragile bones
Away from people who build palaces and forget to build homes
They try to hide the crooked walls with glitter and gemstones
No thank you, I will keep my low thatched roof and cobblestones
Upon my head I place a crown of flowers filled with thorns
A queen of nothing much, possessed by loneliness and storms
My thoughts scream across a mindscape that is ravaged and war-torn
Inside I sit alone and ponder all the things for which I mourn
A gentle heart, I’ve heard it said, is a gift you can’t refuse
But my gentle heart has thus far left me battered, burned, and bruised
So I gathered all the pieces, feeling broken and bemused
And locked them up inside a cage so they can’t be abused
The cage I built is guarded by a small sheep in wolf’s clothes
It bleats and bleeds and warm drops fall on snow and frosted roses
With trembling voice it threatens anyone who dares get close
But slowly fades, in the lonesome glow, into a loathsome ghost
One too many people left who’d said they never would
They spoke with honeysuckle words, they thought I understood
That nothing stays forever, it never can and never should
But my gentle heart overlooked the poison and saw only good
I keep my heart encased inside a fragile cage, it’s true
In my eyes swim a thousand shades of faint, cool morning dew
In the darkest corner of my mind a spark ignites, small and new
Slowly, slowly, I wait for someone to break through
