Femme

I remember you

When hard hearts around me speak their bitter words

I remember how you have caressed me with your voice

When cold steel caps together

Sounding a harsh reminder of my imprisonment

I remember the song of your laughter

And when hard hands suspiciously strip me

Abusing my flesh, intending to defile

I remember you

I remember the tenderness of your touch

What is life without the tenderness of woman?

Where would we be without feminine grace

May I find my own tenderness within

May I grace you as you have blessed me

May I not give into the temptation to harden

May I return to you and return gentleness

May I not forget

Let me remember you

Let me treasure you as God has willed it

Man laying down his life for woman

In all your flaws and pristine glory

I will carry you in my heart

Through these halls of hardness

Always

I remember you

-Stephen Pursell, 4/28/02