Carmelina Fernandes-Kock am Brink
Armoured
She’s a head with no use for bodies hard.
Instead, it is wrapped in a great
Cape of strength, a legacy from the
Original dwellers, in spirit akin, that
She bows before
The nation’s queen.
In a veil at the house of martyrs, loved ones she embraces,
Finds words they need, spends days,
Hours in communal mourning. Leads.
Compassion, in her books, is inbred from birth, as is the power in
Restoring faith, composing with elements present
In us all. Breaching codes of unholy truths, as
An eye for an eye, what’s the use? Let me walk
In your, their shoes, for you and they are us. We’ve known each other
Since before we were born, travelled these shores, all of us guests.
Community building remains an affair
All-inclusive, cloaked in layers of mutual DIY.
And please would you leave my nest untouched, unfenced, I don’t see
Why I should move into a
Palace. Or get caddie-chauffeured across manicured lawns,
Chasing balls.
The spirit of the land dismisses whomsoever tries to stand out,
Shrouded in delusion. The real deal,
Shining through social network screens, remains the
Grandeur of that smile, that open gaze, strained from all the unbridled
Seeing. Here, in a worn sweatshirt of green, her presence
Luminous
On a couch so familiar,
In a living room area, which, as it were,
Belongs to you and me.
—Submitted on 06/14/2020
Carmeilina Fernandes-Kock am Brink is of German-Indian background, grew up in Canada, and teaches English in Toulouse, France.
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