Twisted roots and damaged hearts-
Send lightning through your bones
And sap the energy from your soul.

As the tears freeze in the air and your breaths slow,
Lips turn blue and shivers wrack your body,
Because being alone in the cold is a nightmare
That you can never escape.

The first time he snarled as you screamed,
The first day the door slammed and bruises bloomed,
And his hands shook with fear and regret,
And your body shook with sobs.

It happened again, again, again.
But you never left and he hated himself a little more
With each new color on your skin.

Then it stopped and he left,
The world was cold and dark and scary,
But your friends grabbed your hands and cried,
With you, for you, in shame, in sadness.

The cold fled as warmth bloomed.
The roots stayed twisted
And the hearts stayed broken,
But the sun still rose and each night it got a little easier.

To smile and mean it,
To laugh and be truly, truly, truly
warm.