today i will retreat

today I will retreat
into myself
until i am a small seed.

i will curl a shell around me
tight against the world.

i will ask to be carried gently
in the cup of a careful hand.

i will stay warm against the cold
blind to the sun
and dry against the rainstorm
that is sure to come.

i will be brown
and hard
with only a small green heart in my center
hidden behind thick nut
and tough husk
and bitter shell.

today i will retreat.