I have no need to break you.

Though I break, I break
by staying my hand.
The sting you feel worst
is absence; is what I haven't done.

I have no use for wreckage.
You come to me in pieces;
I will not build. You come to me whole;
I will shelter my strength.

I will see what you show me,
your pieces and your wholeness.
And though that may be painful,
I will do worse. I will accept.

Not as a mirror that is helpless
and must give back exactly
what you give it, but as water
which ripples. Which yields. Which takes.

Whatever you are. Whoever you are.
If you come to me I will meet you.
If you hide from me I will see you hidden.
If you lie to me I will reflect truth.

It may be up from depths;
it may be you are exhausted
by struggle, by your journey.
It may be I will exhaust you.

It may be you have been
holding your breath. We will share it.
It may be I will bring silence.
We will stare into the quiet.

I am here inside it. Speak, or do not speak. I hear.