What I am made of

You want to know? I'll tell you.

I'm made of

Rubies, 

Red as blood that spilled on my sheets, 

And filled my brain and pounded and pounded without ceasing in a song of sorrow 

Emeralds, 

As green as the jealousy I endured, 

That whipped like silent sheets of nails,

Across my face

Sapphires, 

Blue as my mother's eyes when they were scary and utterly crazy

Silver, 

As shiny as the razor of hatred I learned to live with

Amethyst, 

As purple as the darkest of night, 

When arms came, 

Real and imagined, 

And strangled my sense of security

Diamonds, 

With more edges and more prisms of sparkling light than could ever be imagined, 

Compressed by millions and millions of years of pain in one lifetime

Gold, 

As soft as my soul,

When I curled with a book and read under the covers, 

Dazzled by fantasy as big as the universe

Pearl, 

As beautiful as the exquisite hope I hold in my heart,

That was created by years and years of sand abrading my core, 

That can now be harvested from an oyster the size of the world.