Fertile Ground 

Real love begins when masks are dropped,

When time and space and guards are stopped,

You show the wound, the lasting scar,

And still, they choose you as you are.

No need to sparkle, rise, or hide,

Just room for all you hold inside,

A gaze that says: I know that place,

And keeps you in their warm embrace.

Not for the shine you tried to be,

But for the flood you let them see,

They hold what flickers in your chest,

And let it shake, and let it rest.

So if they’re with you when you strive,

Through nights you barely feel alive,

Then you should stick with what you’ve found,

Your feet are now on fertile ground.

Cathrine Hottran 2025