Ode to Joy

Every tear that slides down your cheek in anguish
Crushes my heart as if it were a ton of stones
Cast from a towering cliff.

Every harsh word that pierces your ear
Twists the sharpest sword through my ribs,
Ripping, tearing, breaking.

Every burden you collapse under
Binds me like rusty steel shackles
Clinking and stretched tight with useless struggling.

Every gale of life that leaves your soul
Dry, scorched, and cracking
Rises up in me helpless cries for justice.

When two become one, one becomes new.
When two become one, one becomes faithful.
When two become one, one becomes stronger.
Two become one.

~RG