My Unbroken Man

You came for him with malice, thought he’d shatter, You stripped his faith until it seemed to cease. Exploited him, and whispered, "Trust won't matter," And now he walks in a dishonest peace. You see a darkness in his shadowed gaze, A fearful aspect that he keeps concealed— A side of him that fills his own long days With dread, a wound he thought could not be healed. But where you saw the monster, I see none; That frightening part is only pain disguised. Though every thread of his belief is spun With brittle sorrow, it will be revised. His trust is cracked, yes, but we start anew, A patient wall built up by hand and time; He'll learn to lean on me, and see the true, He is not broken—yours was the great crime. You tried to crush the spirit, strong and kind, But failed. He stands, a gentleness defined. And you will not perceive the strength you missed, Until his brilliance is too late to be kissed.