Red Flags, Hopes, and Heartache

I saw the red flags waving, bright and bold,  

But told myself they'd soften, turn to gold.  

I closed my eyes and hoped for light to gleam,  

Believed in love, convinced it wasn’t a dream.  

  

Each sign, a warning, whispered in the breeze,  

But I wrapped them up in fragile fantasies.  

I thought that time would change what I could see,  

That love could heal what wasn’t meant to be.  

  

Three times the trust was shattered, cold and clear,  

Yet still, I held on tight despite the fear.  

I wanted green where only red could grow,  

And now I carry pain I should’ve known.  

  

But still, I rise, though broken, though undone,  

For in the end, I’ve learned I am the one  

Who’ll set my heart a fence upon the cliff,  

To guard my soul, to give myself the gift—  

  

Of peace, of strength, of lessons that remain,  

For though I bled, I’ll bloom beyond this pain.