Shattered Glass

by Angela Walden


Some of my best motivation came wrapped in sandpaper,
came wrapped in thorns, razor blade tongues &
fire.

Don't you let anybody snuff out your flame, Love.
Discouragement is a disease of the mind!
Even empty-handed, 
you've got plenty fuel
so long as you don't you let a single thing
they throw your way
go to the wayside -
go to waste
go to make you
turn your face downward
& take your eyes off the prize.
Keep the daggers, Love.
They are tools for hunting; for nourishment & survival.
Keep all the bricks that come through your window.
Forget the broken windows; Build. Your. Mansion.

You are not broken, love; You. Are. Evolved -

with sharper edges to cut through tangled obstacles.
A vase is only a vessel to hold things,
but darling, shattered glass can become so much more,
with unlimited potential -
a magnificent mural,
& under enough heat, 
transformed 

into a million marvelous & unimaginably beautiful things.

Make no mistake, Love -
you are sharp; not fragile. 


* * * * *

"Shattered Glass" was originally self-published in Angela Walden's book Where All Paths Converge (2020).

Angela Walden is a Kentucky native poet, spoken word artist, & author of Echoes: My Journey From the Ledge to the Mountain Top, Soul Revision, and Where All Paths Converge. Her contemporary, free-written poetry covers an array of topics including relationships, mental health, spirituality, abuse, trauma, recovery, motherhood, grief, & loss. 

She sells her books independently/directly at https://authorangelawalden.etsy.com