at the seams

you picked up my broken pieces
and never asked why
you glued me back together
and never blinked an eye

you set me in a bed of roses
and brushed my tattered hair
you fed me sunlight and ocean tides
gave me warm clothes to wear

you kissed my sores and bleeding hands
and gently wrapped them up
you helped me learn how to run
when I was certain I couldn't stand up

you took on a sadness that wasn't yours
and you carried it overseas
across the mountains and through the forest
you carried my disease

and when you reached the end of time
you tossed it to the sky
and we watched the tiny pieces
fall like tiny sighs

and for the first time i saw the parts
of myself i thought were black
burned and charred like empty coals
parts i wanted to give back

but they danced and sparkled and shimmered bright
as they fell among our sides
and you held me ever so softly
and shouldered my shuddering cries

you made me love the holes in me
the flaws i tried to mask
you fed them and you cared for them
as if it were but a simple task

and though i know i tell you
far less often than you deserve
i'd die without your grace and care
there's no one else on this earth

who can see such light in the darkness
who holds my hands so true
who welcomes any and all i am
who always sees me through

and though for now
we have a mason jar
filled with unspent hopes
and dreams
my love for you is unbridled,
overflowing,
and bursting
at the seams

overjoyed

i've been overcompensating
for my underdeveloped,
overproduced thoughts
about the real world
and where we fit

unappreciative
of the unabashed
understanding
you've shown me,
i tried to make you quit

overwhelmed
with the day's undertaking
i pushed you away,
now i'm swimming in the overtones
of your laughter
and i'd like
for you to stay

unknowingly
you acknowledged
my very parts
that were undermined
for years
and now i'm swallowing
my pride
instead of
swallowing
my tears.