We did not have the strength to believe
how not slight and not brittle
she had turned out to be
though her homeland was so broken
it was like breaking language itself
to speak of it and her
We stayed mostly away from her
(to let her heal herself
is what we said)
It worked for us mostly
though we’d trip over her dropped jaw
or stark rib now and then
When she found out
we were the world
and she was the children
she was angry
and lo and behold
was strong enough
to show us how brittle
we’d become
our smooth tongues notwithstanding
We could not explain
to anyone’s satisfaction
how we’d left her alone for so long
once we’d known
and we splintered a little more
every day as we saw
what scabbed and hardened creatures we were
horrible comrades
who lied and turned away
not even close to being
the condescending parents
she’d never wanted anyway
Dark Matter 
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