High up in the cupboard
Pretty, prim and clean
Hardly ever used
Rarely to be seen.
It may break, it could chip
It is so fragile and fine
We cannot use it everyday
It must be saved for a special time.
Just like a china plate
You sit behind a fortress strong
Rarely seen, seldom used
From being treated wrong.
Everyday the fortress grows
Ever strengthened by fear
Layer by layer it went up
Row by row, tear by tear.
The fortress seems so very old
And yet somehow, also new
From just a tiny scar
The walls, they grew and grew.
With every heartbreak
And loss of gentle love
The walls were built around
Now the lid goes on above.
The china heart has beauty,
Is dignified and strong
It has a deep, sweet longing
To love and to belong.
One day there will come a soul
Brave and strong and true
He will break down those fortress walls
With love he has for only you.
Until then the walls stay up
But they crumble, bits at a time
From little tokens richly bestowed
By friends so pure and kind.