I honor

all parts and pieces

of a heart

that showed itself

to be strong

and vulnerable,

suffering

and whole —

all at once.

I honor them all

because they refused

to sink quietly

into the back corners

of a heart that was

rightly their own.

I honor them because

the journey

was too much

for any one part

alone —

because turning back

or becoming stuck

would have been

easier.

Still they continued on

through the unknown —

refusing to give up

hope

that their seemingly small

bodies and actions

could reach

and lead each other

to the truth —

however entangled

it had become.