Camouflaged By Someday

I struggle so with words
and with each stitch of thread
you tell a story in their chains.

Why are we so different dear sister?
I am a recluse peering through
the curtains at life outside my window.

You wrap yourself in your knitted wool
and face the world with a smile
whether it is friend or foe that greets you.

With tongue glued by secrets I whither
on a vine I nurture each time I retreat
into the cracked shell of childhood.

You were there for each strike of word and palm,
but father was never able to beat
your spirit into submission.

You are a lesson I have yet to learn.
I paint myself with someday praying
I can move beyond its camouflage into freedom.

©Susie Clevenger 2014

(Written for a friend)

Comments

Sherry Blue Sky said…
A wonderful poem, Susie. I resonate with "the cracked shell of childhood"......the difference in the two girls - one who retreated, the other whose spirit could not be beaten into submission. I love "you are a lesson I have yet to learn." Great write.