I had a recurring dream as a child

that all of humanity turned to stone

and I was left to chip away

at their cold exteriors

until I revealed the soul beneath

and I think that’s why

I am crippled by a fear

that those with a stone armor

of hatred and cruelty 

shielding a fragile heart

will allow all goodness to die 

without the sun to nourish

and I will become 

like that which I fear-

a creature encrusted with bitterness

stone to my core, just like the rest

barreling through this world

and leaving destruction- 

that of strangers, your smile,

and my own fragile heart

-in my wake