A Good Man

Oh, the heart is a house with a very thick door,

And sometimes it’s rusted right down to the floor!

It’s bolted with bitterness, guarded by spleen,

The grumpiest, stormiest heart ever seen.

Inside lived a woman, all jagged and sore,

With a scowl on her face and a lock on her door.

She was boiling with fury, she sputtered with spite,

And she glared at the world with all of her might.

"The world is a sham! Every person’s a pest!"

She cried from the depths of her cold, aching chest.

"They are mean! They are awful! They’re selfish and cold!

And I’ll never let warmth into this house of old!"

Then along came a man with a steady, soft tread,

With a gentle kind smile on his marvelous head.

He didn't get mad when she yelled with a frown,

He didn't shout back or try tearing her down.

He stood by the threshold, so patient and sweet,

With a blanket of quiet and shoes on his feet.

He didn't demand she unlock every gate,

Or scold her for holding such mountains of hate.

Instead, he brought cocoa! He brought a kind word!

The kindest, most comforting thing ever heard.

"I know you are hurting," he whispered so low,

"And you've weathered a blizzard of wind and of snow."

She grumbled, "Go away! I am prickly and tart!"

She tightened the chains round her furious heart.

"I am jagged! I’m bitter! I’m venom and stone!

So leave me right here in my fortress alone!"

The good man just nodded. He didn't depart.

He sat on the step by the door of her heart.

He didn't push open the heavy oak wood,

He just stayed right beside her, the way that he should.

When she screamed, he stayed quiet.

When she wept, he stayed near.

He listened with care to each angry-born tear.

For hours and hours, through the dark and the chill,

While the rest of the noisy old valley grew still.

And little by little, the ice 'gan to thaw,

As she looked at the kindness she never foresaw.

The armor she wore started cracking apart,

As a crack of warm sunlight slipped into her heart.

The bitterness melted, the storm blew away,

And replaced all the gloom with the light of the day.

He held out his hand, and she took it, so mild,

And the heart in her chest stopped its racing and cried.

For she learned that a man who is steady and true,

Can heal up the cracks that the cruel world broke through.

With patience and softness, he mended the breaks,

And showed her the sweetness that real healing makes.

Oh, the heart is a house with a very thick wall,

Built of brick upon brick, standing heavy and tall!

It was plastered with anger, and cemented with spite,

And she guarded it fiercely from morning till night.

For her spirit was wounded, her trust had all died,

So she locked up her bitterness deep down inside.

"No one enters!" she shouted, all jagged and sore,

As she threw twenty padlocks right onto her door.

Then along came a man with a heart warm and true,

With a gentleness rare in the things that he do.

He didn't bang loudly or rattle the gate,

Or scream at the shadows of fury and hate.

He just stood on the porch with a patience so deep,

While the cold winds were blowing and shadows asleep.

He brought her a quiet, a steady soft grace,

And he brought a warm sunlight right into the place.

When she yelled, "Go away! I am prickly and mean!"

He didn't get angry or throw down a scene.

He just sat on the step, calm and steadfast and still,

Like a comforting light on a shivering hill.

He listened to stories of sorrow and pain,

Of the years she had walked in a freezing cold rain. A

nd he didn't judge crannies or corners of gall,

He just showed her she didn't need armor at all.

His caring was steady, his presence was mild,

Like a blanket of warmth wrapping up a tired child.

And she looked at his eyes—so forgiving and clear—

And she felt all the ice start to melt from her fear.

"You don't have to fight," he spoke softly and sweet,

"You can lay down the weapons you clasp at your feet."

And right then and there, something shifted inside,

As the walls that she built opened up very wide.

The heavy old stones started crumbling down,

And she let go of every old grudge and each frown.

For she saw that his love was so patient and true,

It could wash all the bitterness clean through and through.

She forgave all the hurts that had made her so sore,

And she opened—for good—her once-bolted front door.