you are a mosaic of borrowed light and shadow,
fragments pressed into your skin by hands you loved—
a mother’s lullaby in the tremor of your voice,
a friend’s laughter etched into your bones,
old regrets sharp as glass at your feet.
you stand at the edge of that scatter—
cupping each shard in open palms,
choosing which edges to soften,
which colors to let gleam,
which wounds to smooth with time.
...