Fragile Edges

Fragility is hidden,

A deeply rooted facet,

Flourishing amidst ever present insecurities.

Though I may bend, I may also break

And far too easily.

Words have teeth and actions fists,

Each the fiercest opponent,

Akin to catalysts able to strike like

Lightening amidst a raging storm.

Tread cautiously, I plead,

For often, you will find me

Teetering as I stroll upon

Wobbly branches, easily shaken

By the slightest of breezes.

Take care and remember

Words have an endlessness in life,

Spinning themselves like finely woven steel

Within the tapestries of our hearts and minds.

There is such sorrow and difficulty to be had with

Disregarding ill spoken words,

Or worse yet,

Actions driven by ignoble thoughts.

Forgiveness can remain difficult, at best,

And moving beyond such things, nearly futile

When the disease they’ve created festers

To eat healthy tissue in putrid destruction,

Effectively killing all affection formerly felt

In the heart of the afflicted one.

Choose wisely and take care,

Treading cautiously for I am unable

To sustain myself for any length

Against the anguish inflicted by

Webs woven of ill intended

Words and deeds.

Yes, my name is fragility,

Whose existence is threatened by

A thought, a word, or a deed

Born of an iniquitous nature.

Remember while I may bend -

To only a degree -

Inside me the heartbeat

Sustaining my regard and affection

May eventually break,

Shattering asunder into little pieces and

Rendering my heart like a shattered window,

Its jagged edges barring all possibility

Of further entry

Into my broken heart.

Cynthia Calder, 03.13.25