It is not good, perhaps,
when others think
you have it all together.
They might wish for confidence, or leadership ability,
or seeming to always be ahead of the game.
But where does that leave you
when you yearn for company,
when scared or vulnerable or uncertain
of the meaning of being true to self.
Where does it leave the tender heart
who’d welcome an outstretched hand to hold
when the lights of certainty grow dim
and the future appears as a mere ripple on a pond
when hope tumbles into the abyss?
Where does that leave the little girl
who stands behind the iron gate,
not knowing what she actually
needs protection from?
Who knows?
Perhaps one who sees her,
and opens the gate without a key.
(c)Barbara Wood Gray
Opening the gate of the heart
March 2023
