Did I choose its protection? I was asleep.
No one ever said, “You can drop it now” or
“It’s safe to drop that, you’ll be ok.”
Maybe the shell did protect me at one time
when I needed armor.
Maybe it isolated me for reasons
I do not know or understand.
It was heavy and hard to balance.
When I woke up, I could feel its weight.
I can still feel it, like a ghost,
like an arm or leg amputated.
Somehow it still signals my brain,
“Protect yourself.”
Maybe my mother put this shell on me before she left me.
Maybe I inherited it, like a talisman.
Maybe the shell was what women in my family wore to survive.
All I know is I was born with it.
© 2010 Trace A. DeMeyer
Dearest Trace...
ReplyDeleteI believe that sometimes we hear things, or find them, just when we need to... and often don't realize the need was even there until we feel that soul-deep recognition... that 'rings true' feeling that resonates through us.
That is what I felt when I read this... and re-read it...
Thank you .
-Dawn
Dearest Trace...
ReplyDeleteI believe that sometimes we hear things, or find them, just when we need to... and often don't realize the need was even there until we feel that soul-deep recognition... that 'rings true' feeling that resonates through us.
That is what I felt when I read this... and re-read it...
Thank you .
-Dawn