the world is too much with me
I am wounded by the world
I seek shelter in your arms
your face, your heart
a safe place to hide
to heal, to start again
for when I venture out it is
too unreal, so brutally insane
it brings too deep a pain
forcing me to my knees
please, hold me now
hold me together
keep me whole so I do not shatter
into a thousand pieces
fragments of my sensitivity
slivers of myself carved from the bone
carrion picked
flayed strips of lonliness
devoured by this place
hold me in your grace
I am wounded
I am not strong enough to hold up
the weight of this world
I am weak, open, exposed
hungry, tired, cold
a fool without clothes
can you still love me?
© 1994 Liesl Lee