She asked herself
if it was possible
to love unconditionally,
to gather herself up from the many winds
she wondered what it would be like
to feel whole again
to collect the pieces from all the people she had ever been
she looked in the mirror
and she wasn’t sure
if she’d ever know herself –
even if she could imagine, even if she could recall
her every form
she loved them back
from the battles
called them back from the horror
willed them back
from the places they’d been caught
could she look honestly
at every mistake,
every dream and every triumph?
The phantoms, the illusions
the cloaks and the daggers
still waiting for her in the dark?
The mighty embers –
the dreams of what could be,
the giants and the stars?