Softening

It was my fourth birthday,
which I don’t remember much of,
except for this –
I had received two dinosaurs,
a T-Rex, and triceratops,
from whom, I can’t recall.
The triceratops was my favorite,
even then, I had a predilection
for peaceful grazers
armed with defensive shields
and devices
like horns and tails,
in case their calm world
was threatened.
What I remember most,
was my disappointment
the next morning,
when I came to play with
my new treasures.

You, who had feared
that to touch
the world’s sharp mess,
that to touch nature’s,
and others’,
sharp messes, or
their defensive shields,
and devices,
would break your
defensive shields,
would threaten
your calm world,
you had cut off the horns,
and tails,
the tools the dinosaurs
had to defend themselves.
I was crushed at the time.

Looking back,
that was just you attempting to
protect me
from a sharp mess,
to protect me
from myself.
You touched the foreign,
to help me escape
messy harm,
the sharp mess
of the world
that you could not.
It was your love
breaking through.