The Wind That Blew Me Away

I could feel it in my bones that day.

The once gentle breeze
picked up and tossed itself
toward me, blowing away
every shattered piece of myself
that sat on the surface of my skin.

I had never brushed off
those broken pieces.

I wore the shrapnel
of my own war–
I wanted everyone to see
that I arose from a battle.
I wanted them to know my pain,
my hurt, my anger.
I wanted an excuse to barricade
myself from the world
so that I no longer stood a chance
of ever breaking again.

But that day,
the calm draft
suddenly turned bitter.
The wind swept away
every last remnant
of all that had once
been fractured.

I tried to capture the pieces
as they floated away.
I reached up
and grasped at the air,
but all I caught
was dust.