A Heart for a Compass

You face nightmares,

Shunning them with your hand.

You turn even me away

When all I wish to do

Is throw you an anchor

In the depth of night.

No wave could drown

Your anguished cry.

Young, inexperienced captain,

In disbelief, you challenge for the first time

A storm of horrible size:

Solitude,

Furiously raging

When nearby faces

And far horizons

Disappear from your dreams.

Son,

May you have

A heart for a compass —

Your heart, filled with the wonder

Of days to come.

by Jason R. Forbus