She is a beauty.

Full of humor, wit and sarcasm with

a laughing smile that compels you to

smile in return.

When she invites you in she holds you close to her heart.

Her passion enthralls you, her empathy calls to you.

But do you know her like I do?

Do you see her open wounds

laid plainly on the table for all to see,

for ever has she been an open book

Stories of many a woe wound through her

various lives and lands she has traveled.

Read her story. See her.

Think her veneer made of steel, impervious

to your blows, constant and unrelenting?

She is fragile as any other soul in this world.

What battle is so important to be won that you

would scourge the field of her feelings til nary a blade

of grass stands underfoot.

Be warned, she is but a calm tempest

held at bay on the horizon that you invite in

with your callous words you sling so blindly.

I fear you would not survive her storm.

by Philip Wardlow January 16th, 2023