unchaining hearts

it's been a day for hearing about friends' relationship tumult. just on cue, ray charles is on my stereo moaning to have his heart unchained. his phrasing, tone, and emotional conveyance is all spot on. and i'm thinking of past aching, the kind that can come back to haunt my heart with phantom pangs of my emotional frailty - the way my knees twinge in winter weather reminding me of my physical brittleness.

i hope joy, comfort, and salve is not far away. that current pains turn one day to nothing more than scarring: proof that battles of love have been survived and created even stronger lovers.