The hidden harbor of your heart –
I sought it in the morning-days,
When nothing seemed beyond my strength
Or reach, or even love’s desire –
    Across the barren reach, wherein dwells hope.

I struck out to the lonely shore,
And saw the morning-sunrise wishing glow,
My pace unflagging, coming to the steps
That sat along the hidden harborside –
    I felt your presence near, and drew my breath –

You came to where I was, and instantly
I knew I was not welcome in this place –
The hidden harbor you reserved for one
And only one, and one who was not me –
    And set me out upon the journey back

I know that every set of steps is choice,
I know that every choice means danger, risk —
But wow, how far the same trip seemed when I
Was treading back to where my hope was born
    That died upon the secret banks of you

The hidden harbor of a heart –
We seek it in the everyday,
We wish it in our waking and our sleep,
And often find it locked behind a gate,
    That we will never own the key to.

I read a lot about the many people who’ve been bullied
But rarely read of anyone who owns to having done it
Recalling times when I, to my uninterrupted shame
Was cruel for reasons, to this day, that I cannot account for

The meanness of a sibling that we write off just as joking
To people in our classes or our neighbors we tormented
And just as soon forgot as we continued on our journeys
We all know bullies when we see them
Just not when
We are them