Glass Woman

I flinch, afraid to trust in you
Lest you drop me –
For I remember, still, how hard
Is the brutal floor below.

I keep my distance,
Lest this jagged edge
Might cut you,
As it has wounded many in the past.

For then, I would be discarded
- Recycled into something
More useful than I was in life –
More pleasing to the eye.

You might use me as a chalice
From which to drink my sacrifice,
From which you may be refreshed
By the coolness of my submission –

My willingness to please,
My desire to fit your hand,
That you might love my creation
The way you could not love me.

SJL: 12th May, 2004