These solid panes shield me
From the harsh winter,
The body piercing hail,
The numbing frost,
And from my true love.
For she is out there,
Somewhere.

Do I smash through this cocoon like barrier
That forever keeps me shielded
From the disappointments,
The deceit, the humiliation ,
The heartache, the rejections
That are waiting out there.

Or Do I offer myself,
And risk being scrutinized.
My actions picked apart with a fine tooth comb.
My motives questioned.
My dignity eroded
And everything that makes me
The person I am,
Stripped away until all that is left
Is something unrecognizable.

I have to.
For my true love is out there,
And I cant wait to meet her.

We are so fragile, us humans
it can be realised in the blink of an eye
a bout of sickness
a terrible accident
yet at the same time
we can endure so much
pain, suffering and loss
sadness, loneliness and worse
our bones break and heal
our minds wither and mend
together we can pull through
the discrepancy of
our bodies fragility and the mind's will
we have strength in numbers
we find solace in companionship
we are not solitary creatures
we are man and woman
father and child, mother and daughter
lovers, friends and whether we like it
or not
we are neighbours

I cry when my fellow man dies
a part of me dies when my mother cries
I scream in frustration for my sisters
seemingly still living in a man's world
I long for success
but never at another's expense
when you suffer I suffer
when I suffer you suffer
so much suffering, so much pain
we are too quick to place the blame
and fall short on finding a solution
that works for all of us
we are individuals in togetherness
we are all the links that give us protection
and we are all the chinks
in this armour