Fragility no one saw clearly
causing a slide
like a tray down a rail
a bump and a crash
to the porcelain esteem

the pieces on the stairs
splinters to anyone
who could try to walk
into his lighthouse

but at the sea
a father remembered
a boy and his shadow.

It had all been so simple
the sand and the ocean
the wave and the wind
the bend and the mend

fragility cocooned
in the cradle of the glance.

Then it had been possible
to see in the horizon
a life.

(II)
Acid burns away the skin of his soul
the harsh words peel away the hope
from the bones of dreams
no more tears rush out

Harsh actions become like sunburn and recovery
takes hot showers of rebuilding.
Healing is so painful

No thick skin for racism’s language to bounce off
sleeping off the sunburn of criticism
the…