Lullaby for the heart
A Tanka Poem
You are safe with me.
You are safe. Here in this place
My love, you are safe.
Sharp edges soften like silk.
Surrender my love, let go.
Author’s notes
The above is a tanka poem. I enjoy tanka and haiku, which follows the same structure and is the foundation of a tanka as the first three lines.
I consider these as sentiments about small things that live in spaces where meaning lies. The above offers you a moment of insight into how I spoke (and often speak) to myself.
It’s not always easy to hear a gentle voice above a cacophony of criticism and chaos. It’s something I’m cultivating and working on as someone who’s flooded during flashbacks and panic attacks. But this lullaby for the heart is a song we all deserve to hear.
Dee Lister (they/theirs) is a visual artist, published photographer, and writer who’s in complex trauma recovery. All work shared is my own.
