Shield Poem by Sean McCoy

I let them all die
perhaps I killed them.
I don’t remember
when it happened.
I do know they were dead.
I piled the dead carcasses
as a shield around my heart.

And then you came along
and resurrected them.
My heart left unguarded.
Nothing mattered but
seeing you,
feeling you,
holding you,
loving you.

My heart left unguarded
You removed your mask,
and revealed your true self.
You moved in for the kill,
Murderer!
You killed my spirit,
yet you were cruel.
You left my feelings
only wounded, still alive
screaming in agony, broken
running amok throughout
my being.
With their jagged edges
they tear out my guts
and strip the flesh from my bones.

You left me alone
to kill them again
So I can pile
the dead carcasses
as a shield around my heart.

I feel something dying
in me now,
or maybe I am killing it.
I don’t know.
I do know
it will be dead soon.