to know the landscape of someone's psyche

getting to know someone is like
slowly becoming acquainted with
the landscape of their psyche

maybe first they show you
their flowering meadows
their noble gnarled oaks
their proud mountain range

as you get to know them,
they might let you see
their bog of despair
their existential chasm
their black churning sea of terror

if you're really lucky,
if they trust you,
they might let you see
their maze of narcissism
their soulrot marshes
the volcanoes of hurt that ring their heart

it is an honor and privilege to get to
visit the passes in someone's psyche that are fenced off with barbed wire
to sit with them in those rare and lonely places,
waiting silently together for sunrise