If my heart were an emptiness

If my heart were

a flame

flickering in the wind

Would you cup your hands

in protection

till I grew strong again?

If my heart were

a snowflake

caught in an early spring

Would you flee with me

northward

till I grew firm again?

If my heart were

a tender tree

growing too near the edge

Would you root me

in a rich soil

somewhat further back?

If my heart were yours

would you keep it from me

and only bring it out

to give me doubt

and pity

when you needed

something from me?

Without my heart

the snowflake would melt

though the flame failed

And young trees would

never take root

And the cold would

move in

And waste begin

and my heart,

the void,

Would empty somehow

of love too soon.

(And if my heart were

an emptiness

would that be enough

to make a beginning

of a new love?)