Behind These Parapets
her smile is the mortar,
each "I'm sorry" and "Excuse me,"
each "Thank you", each "You're so sweet"
another brick in her facade, another
strengthening of fortifications
her eyes are parapets,
behind which she waits and safely watches
you, an enemy attempting to climb
her ramparts with mocking and lies,
laughing and unaware of the arrows
she unleashes with each sideways glance
her walls are thick,
built upon sturdy foundations
rooted deep into the bedrock of her soul
she is a warrior
in gleaming armor,
presenting courtly love to her Lady
and her Lady is herself,
whom she honors
with all due respect and devotion
hers is a knighthood of the mind,
and she will ride forth, jousting,
fighting with a lion's roar
any who would seek to shame her Lady love
if she be struck down, she will rise
and stand again, bleeding but strong,
noble in her purpose, brave and true
to her inner oaths, she will never quit,
never fail to stand and defend until
her last breath exhales onto the battlefield calle life
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Note: This poem was inspired by a prompt offered by justa_nobody12: "Wall. Like a person feeling like a wall".

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The Poetry Project
PoetryThe Poetry Project was ongoing from early 2013 through April 30, 2014. It invited readers to submit prompts, which I turned into poems. The prompts were quite varied and let me stretch my skills, like doing calisthenics. The project is over, but th...