13.  The Frailty of My Hopeless Heart

And in that lost pile of ill-fitting

possibilities, there grew a tumor

in my soul that took away all

semblance of youth, all traces

of beauty, and I was left

with nothing but the stark reality

of what happens when a human

dares to grow and age beyond

the socially acceptable rules

of engagement.

So here I sit, unengaged, making

enemies of everyone young

and beautiful, not because my heart

is any heavier, but because for the first

time I can carry it completely in my

age-spotted hands.

And if only they knew how it's not

me at all but You, lifting up the frailty

of my hopeless heart, giving it more

hope than one could ever have in the

shine of her hair, the curve of her hips.