A Strangers Hand

You took me away;
Broke me out of my cage.
I’ve been trapped all of my life,
But you’ve given me the strength
To say goodbye.

I’m standing on the precipice
But my world is only beginning.
My anger and strife in this life
Has not yet faded
But you’ve opened up my eyes;
Gave me a reason to smile.
Convinced me I could stay alive.
You forced me to trade my tears away,
And offered in exchange:
A hand; a shoulder; a friend.

I was a bird with broken wings
When you came into my life.
And somehow,
I was teetering on the edge
Of a cliff with a splintering ground.
I was going to fall.
I was a breadth away;
I was a moment away.
Panicked and afraid,
I had no control of my life,
Or even
Of the things I chose to do or say.
But you saw me there,
Tipping back and forth,
Facing an irreversible decision.
But you didn’t see a broken bird;
A soul meant to roam,
Trapped in the space between
The sky and the ground.
You saw a girl.
A girl you’d never met.
A girl you almost
Never could have known.
And you pulled me from the edge.
Broke down the cage that held me
And offered bandages for woulds
That you didn’t even see.
You made me laugh,
And I forgot why I was hurting.

You gave me the strength I needed
To outstretch my clipped wings,
And suddenly,
I was soaring.

And as I flew into the horizon,
I looked down and saw you
Smiling up into the sun.
My friend; my only one.