The Silent Shield Poem by Lisa AT

You wore a smile to mask the fray,
While colour slowly bled to gray.
To family, friends, and anyone near,
You spoke no word of hurt or fear.
You kept the truth in a locked-up room,
Protecting the one who brought the gloom,
Telling the world that the sun was bright,
While you were shivering in the night.
​
​You held the ghost of who they were,
A memory blurred in a soft-lit stir.
You waited for that person to return,
While watching your own foundation burn.
Patience and loyalty, a steady hand,
Building a life on shifting sand.
You gave them the grace they didn't earn,
Waiting for a tide that would never turn.
​
​You stood as their guard, their shield, their wall,
Refusing to let their image fall.
But while you were sheltering them from the rain,
They were the storm, the flood, and the pain.
They whispered your name in a twisted light,
Painting you dark to make themselves white,
Spinning a web, a narrative grand,
So they'd never have to take a stand.
​
​They called you 'broken, ' 'sensitive, ' or 'mad, '
Hiding the betrayals and lies they had.
They stole your peace and they tarnished your name,
Handing you the burden of all their shame.
You lied for them to spare them the sting,
While they didn't care for a single thing.
You loved them with everything you possessed,
While they made you a villain in a script they addressed.
​
​You might feel foolish for the heart you gave,
For the silence you kept, for being so brave.
But kindness is never a mark of the weak;
It's the strength of the soul, though the spirit is bleak.
You are genuine, real, and remarkably true,
The monster was them; it was never you.
They lived in shadows and transactional lies,
While you loved with open and honest eyes.
​Don't let their coldness turn you to stone,
You aren't the mistakes of the one you have outgrown.
Your loyalty is a gift, a light in the dark,
They couldn't extinguish your beautiful spark.