Out of My Mind

He skates on thin ice, with the ease of a champion,

Because he’s had a lifetime to practice.

Lost in the music that plays inside his head,

He dances, all alone and unencumbered.

Bending his head as he glides through a turn,

He smiles at his shining reflection.

A crack in the surface reveals the depths below,

Where fear and longing and I reside.

I’m used to the chill and welcome the numbness,

That’s finally frozen my heart.

It no longer beats for hope without resolution,

For words declaring love that never blooms.

Etched in the tissue of my foolish, trusting spirit,

Scars replace years of careless wounds.

The higher I dared to let his words lift me,

The farther and harder I fell.

Having tasted real love, I remember it clearly,

And settling for less no longer serves me.

I’ve put down my weapons, those cruel, shaming words,

I spat upon myself, just for caring.

He skates on thin ice, with the ease of a champion,

Because he’s had a lifetime to practice.

Lost in the music that plays inside his head, he dances,

All alone and unencumbered.