She puts her perfume on

hoping you like her scent

She plans what she wears

hoping you’ll take notice

She wants nothing more

than to be drawn close

within the scent of man

her heart longs to be

she aims her heart to heal

in the merging of her hands

upon the touch of your flesh

she dreams of kissing

the nape of your neck

for she knows you

have seen hardships

and nothing more

does she wish for you to forget

to find respite in the taste of her lips

to find solace in the home of the heart

but she knows you are jaded

torn and abused

been out wondering in the cold

amidst the folly of dreams laid to waste

for she too has danced in those forests

entrenched in their quagmires

she freed herself

and to all she gives her heart

she knows they may not see

blinded behind the veil of their misery

yet time and time again

her heart on her sleeve she gives

for she learned long ago

that is the way

on the path

home

12/26/2018