Shield

Shield

~ a poem by Justin Palatsky

Sure, she gets lonely while braiding her hair

Weaving the strands so meticulously.

On the front porch in the same old chair

She looks into the prairie’s infinity.

 

The nearest town is an hour’s drive

And she visits but once a month.

It is far too rare for her to feel alive

And thus her soul gives up the hunt.

 

She’s tired of the constricting jeans

And the long hours in the field.

She wants to find out what life means

And find a boy to carry her shield.

 

Sure, she loves the horses and the sheep

But the animals are her only friends                                

She’s tired of the life she leads

And yearns for what’s beyond the prairie’s end.

 

For too long has she swam in an ocean of corn

And hiked in mountains of cabbage

She is waiting to finally be reborn

And this time without any baggage

 

She wants a splendid night on the town

And a nice boy to buy her a meal

She likes how all of this sounds

And how a boy could carry her shield

 

Sure, she still believes this all could come true

And she dreams of it every night

But when the night ends and leaves its dew

She awakes in panicked fright.

 

Her reality of life in this void

Is a constant struggle throughout the day.

But still she dreams that somehow a boy

Will come into her life to whisk her away

 

She has wished upon every star in the sky

While counting the sheep in the field

But she knows that deep down inside

That boy would be carrying a broken shield.