There is a crack in everything.
That’s how the light gets in.
                                          ~ Leonard Cohen

There were times through the years, love,
I thought my heart would break,
times it felt rough around the edges
and since I wear it out there,
melting on my sleeve, you always knew,
while your heart was (mostly)
tucked away, steadfast and quiet,
though once I saw it naked in your eyes.

And didn’t we both expect perfection?
That your heart would always speak
when I needed it
and that mine would hear
all of your unspoken words?
Maybe growing old is just learning
to cradle each other’s heart in our hands
like broken baby birds
or snowflakes melting in fists of light.

From Crow Ink (Little Eagle Press, 2009).
Used here with the author’s permission.