The built-up walls
The independent streak
The survival mechanisms 
             to protect what was fragile 
             and innocent

A shell of hardened shards
Sharp, pointed and smooth
A whack and a crack 
             and the facade melts through 
             the vulnerability, the innocence 

Lost too soon in the harsh cold dark

Uncertain to be liked, to be wanted, 
to belong, to be me
             appreciated and loved 

not tossed aside, a blemished heart

The contents spill out
Walls that seemed so high, so strong 
a wash over like a spring 
             that has finally sprung

The love, the innocence, the belonging 
all still there 
             they always were 

a crack and a whack 
and I blossomed 
             into a mighty tree