(The following poem, from my collection Shattering and Bricolage, was quoted in “Innocence,” episode 14.4 of the CBS drama Criminal Minds,)
Like a hammer deliberate
Or careless, jostling child,
Life tumbles us
From safe, oblivious heights
To smash to shards
And scattering dust.
Yet, though shattered,
We may have the fortune
To feel warm, compassionate hands
Collect the fragile fragments
Of our broken selves.
With care that glitters brighter
Than even the purest gold,
They join the misshapen bits together
Leaving a webbing fretwork
Of shimmering seams
That forever remind us—
When wounds are healed by love,
The scars are beautiful.
I love this poem. I believe we all have wounds. Some of us are fortunate enough to acknowledge our wounds, some deny or bury them. Our healing varies far and wide. Some people’s wounds never heal. Those of us healed by love carry a most beautifully scared heart, a treasured gift. Thank you.