Thorns in the Grove

In the shadows where the tall pines lean

The briars creep

Their edges keen

A crow's cry splits the muted green—

Oh

Nothing soft survives unseen

Show me your scars

Your jagged spines

I'll trace them like they're sacred lines

Show me your sharpest thorns

My love

And I'll show you hands that bleed

Every rose has its edge

My love

But it's beauty that we need

The moss grows thick where the rivers hum

And the nettles sting

But I won’t run

I’ve kissed the bark where the sap does weep

Love’s a forest—wild

Dark

And deep

Show me your sharpest thorns

My love

And I'll show you hands that bleed

Every rose has its edge

My love

But it's beauty that we need

Your heart's no meadow

It’s a tangled vine

With roots that twist and wounds that shine

But I’ll walk barefoot through the bramble’s snare

For love lives best where the wild things dare