“A Silent Strength”

She treads softly
and moves through
the quietest of places,
at ease with
the sparse surroundings
and the grandeur therein.

And when she moves,
she may appear
as nothing,
formless
and unknowable,
like a wind that swiftly
passes through the night
without a trace —
this is the beauty
of learning
how to be.

She is hopeful,
yet her smile
is forlorn.

She is earnest,
yet her eyes
are full of wariness.

She is gentle,
yet her heart
is a winter storm.

She is a muse of madness
and a muse of intrigue,
a heart of fervor
so heavily guarded,
an open book
of cryptic dreams.

Though she may
appear small and unsteady
and never more
than what she seems,
she looks above
for signs and mysteries
with the eyes of a hawk —
a relentless spirit
concealed from
the rest of the world,
an untouchable stranger
with a silent strength
that will carry her
through the cold.

And she does not need
any more than
the stories that set her free.