fear and hope war inside
the cage I call a heart
fighting an endless battle
to be myself is to love too much
to be myself is to hope against
the impossible
to be myself is to wait
for a response that may
not come
to be myself is to love you
what a thing it is
to turn myself inside out
to reveal everything
oh everything
to know I have nothing left
to give
how freeing and terrifying
to put myself in another’s hands
to sing and write and pray
to send off into the unknown
to listen to the silence
until my ears bleed
and still wait
not knowing if I will hear
your voice
yet still hoping with every breath
because to live
to breathe
to love
is to hope
and I know no other way
to be