Her mama yelled, “Stop that! There ‘s nothing to cry about!”

Then she walked away, closing the door behind her;

Making sure the terrifying feelings could not escape the room.

In the dark, alone;

The little girl wondered

When her mom would come back,

and if she would still be angry,

and how to make the bad feelings stop.

She made herself small,

Wrapping her body around a tear-soaked pillow;

Straining to hear any familiar sound;

To know she was not really alone.

She learned that her crying made others angry,

And scared;

She learned that feelings were not safe,

Because they make people go away.

Then, many years later she discovered it was all a lie.

Love doesn’t stop because people go away;

Love stops because feelings get locked up and

People get locked out.

Then she declared aloud,

She would open her heart a little further and,

When she did,

The little girl felt safe

For just a moment;

But it was a very big moment because

It was the first time, ever.

And it was the start of something extraordinary.