the doctors say
i'm not okay
that it's a miracle
i met today
but i take my pills
every night
i sleep and i dream
i wake and i fight
maybe i'm a mess of lights
of leather too tight but
i do alright.

the dog catchers
dangle bones
in front of my cage
but i won't bite.

my skin's a battlefield
my soldiers won't yield
and time has worn holes
in my steel-woven shields.

yet every day, i lace up my shoes
i outfit my army, though i know it will lose
i eat my dinner, i brush my teeth
and i try my hardest
to fall asleep


s.h.