my friend
you are too tender
for this world

when your innocence
was stolen from you
and you learned
that life was
a cruel game
you learned to hide
way down inside
and no one could find you

sometimes something
would touch that place
within
and that’s when you felt
all the love
that had been hidden
and crushed

i know this innocent love
is still there
buried underneath
the years
of fighting
and struggling

and i plead with you
to do all you can
to return to
your innocence
now, soon, before you die

this is a harsh teacher,
this world,
but all it is ever
really teaching you
is that
your return
to innocence
awaits you, now
or at your departure
from all this

so do not worry
about this tenderness
it is really
an invitation
to remember 
and remember 
innocence lost