Desert Dweller

Crystal goblet dropped carelessly on marble floor,

pieces swept into a dark corner. 

Crushed, crumbled and eroded by life.

She called herself ‘shards’—

saw herself as broken, shattered.

Soul and spirit splintered

into razor sharpness.

Drawn by flashes of her light,

he saw thousands of glittering scraps,

bits of broken heart reflecting

glints of moonlight.

Never judging, he observes,

asks, listens, acknowledges.

Confidence restored,

she finds and reattaches

misplaced fragments of herself.

New patterns appear

an elegant being proudly emerges

from the smoldering shards

of her crystalline chrysalis.

© 2026 Bruno Talerico

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