I keep my sorrows bundled to my breast,
and kiss them close with tenderness.
I heed my furies when they screech and scream,
divine-sent heralds warning of unjust things.
I clasp each fleeting joy to my fondest heart,
and leave them room enough to depart.
I treasure every moment with fiery love,
and bank the embers of its loss.

I comfort each anxiety with welcoming arms,
beckoning them to sit around my sides.
I lay out palms for pride and guilt,
as I know for them my life is built.
I offer trust and confidence to fear itself,
as easily as places perched beside my hearth.
I swing hopes high as they wish in my hands,
as if little children clambering for stars.
I make space for disappointments and grief,
ushering in old friends come to visit me.

For each one carries a piece of the human soul
and offers a part to sum greater than the whole.

I tell you, for all the gold in all the world,
all precious stones, all laurels, all crowns—
I would not trade their wisdom or their need,
for they know best how to heal me.

What sweet relief a feeling is,
when you have known the numbing of nothingness!