Contract With My Soul

Whereas the past was written in a hand
that pressed too hard, and tore the unguarded page,
where winters walked me ragged through the land
of iron nights and walls that swelled with rage;

Whereas the voices laced with broken glass
were law and judgment, echoed in my chest,
and silence, like a gavel, split the past
a sentence served, a home without arrest

Whereas the cold made ink of blood and bone,
each oath engraved in scars I did not swear,
a child left to foot the debts alone,
inheritance of sorrow laid out bare;

Whereas I bore the freight of crimes not mine,
the ledger smeared with suffering’s decree,
the body taxed, the spirit fined,
and none to plead acquittal over me;

Therefore, let love annul the iron will
that forged this lineage of grief and bedrock;
let laughter be the clause that thwarts the kill,
a shield of joy where hands once clenched alone.

Therefore, this house shall stand in warmer glow,
its walls unshaken by the storms they send;
no history shall trespass in the night,
no ghost shall cross the the entry-sill to pretend.

Therefore, my children’s cries shall not be met
with cold indifference, nor with iron fist,
but gentleness their birthright, lest regret
should dare amend what love has sworn, exist.

Therefore, my vow is sealed in flesh and vapor,
with every step, a choice to stand and be
the gate against the wolves, the hand, the rest,
the father I had prayed would come for me.

This contract stands, unbroken and complete,
its witness love, its court beneath their feet.