This slow prising

This slow prising of grey-toughened steel,
october-layered, disillusion-welded,
lets in a chink of warm trust, cautiously rising.

Kind-hand-memory, warm tea, resonant voice
reached through a retching of tears 
a haze of self-induced abuse.

Feelings long bottled spewed-out: animal frenzy
through metal skin, brittle shell thing cracking, 
split to naked bone -

you did not mock or yawn
in the day of light-clear sanity.
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