The Wall

She stands alone;

she feels weak,

a coward with her back

against a wall;

pushed there time and again

by the demands of others

and her own fierce loyalty

to those she loves.

What she cannot see

is that the wall

shelters and protects

all of us,

and without her,

we crumble:

her back

holds up

the wall.

© ACG

08 November 2010

~ for my mother