Walk with me a while, for we have the time
You do not follow. Why?
Are you afraid that I will abandon you?
I would never wish that pain.

How can I know it is painful? I am merely a child.
But do not children speak more wisdom than the wise?
Did not the elders sit in awe as a child spoke the truth?
How should I know? I am merely a child

The one who was The Man who abandoned me.
Does he still exist? Only in a far away dream,
A dream I left in the past.
Do I dream? Not now, I’m awake.

He was supposed to teach me great things.
What he taught did not feel so great.
He taught me the pain of a broken heart.
How was I to know it was made of spun glass?

An arrow broke through my skin,
Shattering the jewel into thousands of shards.
Only one was recovered immediately.
Now I undertake the journey to repair it.

How did I survive such a blow?
‘Would have killed another, even you.
Why was I spared, alone and broken.
Why must I, a child, take up such a burden?

There are laws against such things,
Perhaps not where you come from.
I shall enact such a law someday
If I ever get the strength to stand alone.

Maybe that is the answer to all the riddles,
Not time, or mountains, or darkness, or the sun on a flower, or a fish, or what I have in my pocket.
Those are much too simple
Everyone knew the answers before they were read.

The answer is not in the question  
That holds no clues at all.
Perhaps your keen and probing mind would prove me wrong.
Analyze it! Write it in your notes: What do you see?

I must recover the shards, one by one.
I will not pay in blood to any god.
I will not be solving any crime.
And I most certainly will not fight any demons to win.

I must run the Marathon.
I must carry the message to the populous.
They must hear the news
Even if I die trying.

Time is a precious thing, never waste it.
I am young and I have time
Time to repair the broken jewel that is my heart.
Many will try to steal it, but I will fight for it.

A stolen heart that is broken
Usually does not work as well
As one that is whole and healthy
And freely given by its keeper.

As I mend my broken heart,
I must tell my tale to all.
Even when I become blind and have no name
At least my story will be remembered.

I hope to teach with my story.
Not to pick it apart with scholars
Or students in a classroom.
But to remain whole as my heart will be one day.

That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
That is why I am my self.
I am a steel magnolia, a cat on the prowl.
A cold, hard beauty, one that some appreciate.

I alone have perservered
And now I know why:
To spread this song across the world
With the soft music of my voice.
My song may not be popular
It may not top the charts
Or go platinum in a short time.
It may never win a bronzed gramophone, but I don’t care.

I need to win in the hearts of others.
Not members of any elite group
But the low and poor:
The ones who need the lifting.

Well, this is the end of the road.
I must find a way on.
Do not come with me,
Its not as though I don’t enjoy your company.

Stay behind and remember what I’ve sung.
Tell it to those you know.

And if you see a shiny pink crystal,
About the length of your little finger.
Hold onto it for me.
It is a piece of my heart.

Keep it for as long as you like.
I may come back for it one day.
One day when the wind
Blows me back your way.