Lifted, unsteady

Feet off the ground, shoes dangling like loose ends.

His hands beneath my arms—awkward, unsure.

The fence looms, and I’m a weight forgotten,

a sudden feather caught in a clumsy breeze.

Embarrassment flares, hot and raw,

a child's grip on adult’s strength,

a trust fragile, trembling in midair.

The ground waits patient, distant.

And in that moment,

being carried is a question,

a burden and a gift tangled tight,

a balance I forgot how to hold.