Armed

by Kate Girdhar

Image source: Unsplash

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My armour –
here I am –
knighted in it.
A bright, shining
thing that
one wears to rescue
damsels.

(Do damsels, too, wear it to rescue
damsels?)

It’s not a
Halloween mock-up
anymore. 

But it’s still costuming.

It’s shiny and starched
but
just a polyester
shield.

For wear and tear
and all the things
you can’t
see.

For tears and
highlighter stains and
balled up fists
in the
pockets.

And where does all
that go, if
forbidden from putting
a chink in
this armour?

It seeps into my skin,
I suppose

(Wait a second….)

‘til I’m lady
macbething

my hands to
wash out
all their
faultless
indiscretions.

But.

My armour
is a coat
in the snow
when two
is just
too much.

And (let me tell
you,)

it does its job
perfectly.

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Kate Girdhar is a third-year medical student at the UTCOMLS.

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