Submissions by Nipplegrinder_

Her heart is a house of relics
A museum of priceless pieces
The vastness is arresting
In rooms of the longings of an
Innocent girl
In exhibits of the endless compassion
of a tireless advocate
In darkened corridors of shame
Helplessness
Fear
In rooms of boundless joy
the beauty of moments shared
and peaceful private triumph

At the center
A pool
Nearly empty
Flora and fauna
The pool's waters
Clear
The pool of her tears

In that pool of unshed tears
lie the hopes of all who enter

I chanced upon grace, upon beauty.
Immeasurable fire within piercing eyes.
I gazed through that fire to seek
her soul.
I found strength, persistent pain, and
a scared child cloaked in patchwork quilts
of disguise.
I found unabiding protective arms.
Unfathomable determination to keep safe
her charges.
I found the dented shields that once deflected
so many attempts to fell her.
I found new shields at the ready.
I found walls to scale, fortresses.
I saw deep wounds upon her body.
Wounds never properly cared for
left...