Splintered soul

A splinter lodged deep within my soul,

A shard of grief I cannot control.

My children, my light, my breath, my fire,

Now rationed by a stranger’s desire.

To hold them close, their laughter near,

Was once my right, so pure, so clear.

But now the days are numbered, cold,

By hands that never loved or told.

What bond can be measured, cut, confined,

When love’s eternal, unaligned?

Yet papers, walls, and rules decree

When I can love, when they see me.

A stranger’s gavel splits the sky,

It robs my heart, though it can’t untie

The threads that weave us, unseen, profound—

A love that thrives on hollowed ground.

Each moment stolen feels like years,

Each visit joy that ends in tears.

They are my heart, my blood, my name,

Yet distance turns it all to flame.

But still, I fight, though it takes its toll,

This splinter lodged deep in my soul.

For though the world may try to sever,

Our bond endures, always, forever.