Monday's Metaphor -- Open Trench

So many of my metaphors find me while I'm running.  I (literally) almost tripped over this one.  I've joked that I'm going to silkscreen the sign I wrote about here on a baby t-shirt, but I can imagine wearing this one emblazoned across my own chest:  OPEN TRENCH.  I know it's not Wednesday (and this isn't one of my Wednesday's Word posts), but indulge me.

The metaphor is probably obvious to you (because you too have likely had your heart carved out at some point over the course of the cruel days that sometimes make up our lives), but it improves with some dictionary help.  A trench is a "deep furrow or ditch."  Indeed, the word comes from a root meaning "to cut."  Trench may also be defined as "a long narrow ditch embanked with its own soil and used for concealment and protection in warfare."

Sometimes when your insides have been carved out from within, the remaining cavity at least provides a hiding place.  Caution advised for passersby.