it shattered into dust
and little jagged shards
that I somehow swept up
in the palm of my hand
and squeezed into a semblance
of a crooked, crumbling sphere.
it needed walls around it
hard, unyielding, a crust never
to be breached, just to hold
it together, to protect what’s left
of the most important parts of me.
no one can get in, nothing
can get out, impenetrable
inescapable, stubborn, unwilling
loyal, afraid. but of course
you are the exception. you
are always the exception.