You kept a map in your chest, folded tight, then folded again. Every hallway held a weather, every smile had a thin edge. And I saw how you vanished in a room full of names. Still you reached for the ground like you knew it would stay. All the bright places still hurt when they shine. All the bright places, you were there in my life. Hold me near, let the hurt move through. All the bright places, I still find you. By the water, by the broken, by the places we named and kept, you made small mercy feel urgent, like a hand on the railing step. If the dark comes calling, I will answer soft. Not to save the ending, just to carry the cost. All the bright places still hurt when they shine. All the bright places, you were there in my life. Hold me near, let the hurt move through. All the bright places, I still find you.
