I can carry my own inner child
I can protect and reassure
and love her
but I cannot carry yours as well
you need to heal your own child
you left her alone, crying
into the emptiness, waiting
to be heard, to be held in love
you erected barriers
to keep you both safe
but these kept everyone
at a distance
and now, no matter how much
attention she is given
she will not be
silenced
you are a fortress
harbouring a
crying child
© Claire Griffin 2016
And with this, in those last three line, I finally formed a metaphor to describe and explain the behaviour of someone once near to me. Moving past my own hurt and anger, I found something like understanding, almost compassion. But the fourth line holds true – I cannot hold someone else’s pain. I am not responsible for it, and I do not have the answers.