Vulnerability

Remember the moment when despite your best efforts, someone penetrated your defenses?

You touched more than my body
It’s frightening and exhilarating
Giving up that part of myself I hold
In lonely defiance to the vagaries of life

I am moved to tears
But may not display that
No sense frightening you
With the intensity of my soul

Your tenderness undoes me
The small things are so moving
An intrinsic part of your character
Not a calculation or manipulation

Sometimes I am at a loss
So used to being funny and silly
Just so everyone gets a funny girl
To laugh with or at

What will I do now
Not wear my vulnerability
Like new clothes
Or a jaunty hat

Don’t worry, I won’t hold you
I won’t ask you for anything
I won’t be a burden
To anyone, for any reason

I have stood alone, forever
Removed somehow
I am very capable
And independent

But I feel soft today
I could weep, but I won’t