COMFORT
Say there’s no shame in being human this way;
Say there can be occasion to forgive oneself.
—Emileigh Barnes, “Absolute Constant”
Say there is redemption in error,
a chance to rebuild when everything is broken.
Say I will one day stand tall,
although now my bones are fragile,
and my foundation trembles weakly.
Say it is not my fault that I find myself
lost within my own mind;
say that the labyrinth can be one day escaped.
Say that even a wilting flower
holds beauty in its petals.
—from 2015 Rattle Young Poets Anthology
