Shattered

To be human is to walk on shattered glass,
Barefoot, yet feeling the warmth of sunlit roads,
To taste the salt of tears and still find sweetness,
In the small, stubborn blossoms growing through the cracks.

Joy comes like a thief,
In the hollow night after the storm has passed,
When the body is weary and the soul ragged,
And yet, laughter spills like wine from a broken cup.

Pleasure dances in the fringes of pain,
A flicker of warmth in the cold,
A whispered promise, tender and cruel,
That the heart can still beat in the midst of ache.

Forgiveness is a ghost,
Lingering in the shadows of shattered trust,
It wears the face of hope,
But speaks with a voice of its own.

To give up humanity is to close your eyes,
To the fragile beauty of your bruised world,
But even in the darkest corner,
A spark remains, unseen, unextinguished.

Humanity is a stubborn flame,
It can be dimmed, hidden, nearly snuffed out,
But it is always there, waiting,
For a breath of courage to bring it back to life.