Fortified

We start out small, but with big dreams

That fill up all the space in a room

That push the blood through our veins like streams

We begin to grow like stalagmites

Inching up slowly towards the moon

Rising like rockets, or steam, or kites

And in our dreams we begin to notice cracks

Small fissures and fractures

Paths for our ghosts to travel through like tiny cadillacs

And like roots the darkness climbs

Through our chests

And into our minds

Until our puerile dreams burst

Like ballons

And we sink to the bottom of our rivers; submersed

Although we're told to stop dreaming

Stop seeking, stop fighting

Stop thinking

Eventually I see

That the dreams I dreamed were real for me

And someday,

When the water turns from black to blue

And my bruises do too

When your voice no longer lingers in my mind

I will raise my chin and face the sky

And the grass will finally be green

And the rain will smell like rain

And the trenches once littered with bones

Will be washed with tulips like tides

And like mountains, I will stand

Fortified