let me peel the orange for you.
come now, i can see it from your tired, unsteady hands
you watch as the knife slices through the peel
and wish that
you could peel back all these versions of you
and be brand new

let me dry your tears for you.
your stormy eyes tell a lifetime’s worth of stories
from battles with the demons in your head
to avalanches of anxiety
rolling up in your chest
and a whole tempest sea’s waves
beating around at your core

let me mend your broken heart for you.
they don’t send ambulances for broken hearts
nor for broken and bleeding souls;
just broken bodies
please, come off the ledge
the relief you seek
seldom exists on the long way down
we can sift through the shattered and jagged pieces
together

let me hold up the light for you.
and hold your hand through this darkness.
i’m not asking for much, but just for you to be okay
tell me every single labyrinth your mind has wandered through
and watch me not flinch,
watch me hold you up to the sun;
wings stronger than Icarus.