We found each other, both broken, shadows of ourselves.
Together we clung in the darkness, buttressed against the cold.
Slowly we built ourselves stronger - a pebble here - there a cobble
And we stretched with our new strength, a beautiful arch of shining stone.
But I did not know how to build myself. I could only see the holes in you.
And you took what I gave, and rarely a stone came to the side that was me.
You shone brighter as you took what I had to give
And darkness still shone through my gaps and shattered self.
You grew stronger and brighter as I sagged and waned
And finally you transformed, stones made into wings.
And the wind and light caught you, drawing you away
And my wobbly arch, its keystone ripped away, fell to pieces.
I see you still as you float upon the breeze among the stars
Your smile, your laugh echoes through me as you soar, wings entangled with hers.
I wonder if you see me, a pile of shattered rocks weathered and covered in vines
But in truth I am no more than the cracked pavement beneath your feet.
I try to gain strength from the moss that grows upon my skin.
I try to find solace in the darkness and shadows we once feared.
The vines wrap around me, strangling but also giving support
And so with no help but what would try to destroy me, I build something new.
There will be no shimmering towers or soaring arches for me.
Not even a wall will be built, or even a bench to sit upon.
I have not the strength to rise that high, not without your strength.
I can but crumble further, and offer soil for a flower to grow in the sun.
And then, with the stones and shards that remain, I will shift and turn.
I am pavement still, but not just a cracked sidewalk like all others.
I will make a blossom of stone around my flower, a mosaic of my former self.
And the moss and ivy will hold me together - a hard-earned beauty.
And now, as you fly above, the starlight shimmering on your wings
You will see me, and wonder at the harsh strength of the earth.
~ Kathryn van Roosendaal
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