Kora

Stranger Things

I refuse to give up,
on this world of glass,
where promises made
are too often shattered.

Yet I am so afraid...
to be open, to feel joy,
to stop scanning the room
for all the ways
you could break me.

Maybe all I am
is rib and bone,
blood and tissue—
but maybe not.
Perhaps I am forged
from stranger things:

The delicate spine
of a spring flower.
Birdsong and laughter.
The breathless echo
of a stolen kiss.

So let fear come.
I am trading safety
for the open sky.
I am wild and I am free,

I will teach myself to fly.