His heart, dug beneath the earth

Weighed by shackles, bare bones, and undertones.

Every step

-hurried-

Its beautiful, unkept depth

Until his path crossed another’s

Her heart, dug beneath the earth

Weighed by shackles, scarlet cries, and unmarked eyes

Every step

-hurried-

Its beautiful, unkept depth—

Until her path crossed another’s

They glared at the glimmer key named “Hope”

The one the other had been given

“Keep walking,"

They were told

By a voice so profound and bold

They held a key

To one another’s

A match with a name

Unheard as

“Freedom”

As they race

To place

A key

To the shackle of another’s

Each inhaling a newness,

Within each beat—longed for,

A second—caught a gaze.

A deeply formed breath.

“This key," they thought,

“Is so different.”

“Could it hold my heart’s time?”

A moment

A name

With such a key…

Like mine