You build a fortress over a period of time

it takes effort, it takes patience

mostly it takes pain, a lot of it

you wall yourself in

shut the fissures

trim the edges

the frivolous frills of expectations

you strut in your heels

throw your back

arch your bum

and take to the street

you stop not

you walk in grace

in slow, steady steps

tears dried in smiles

preserved in resins of frozen time

a perfect picture, a smile so paste

then they say, ‘you are something

what grace, what beauty, such power

so fantastic’, must be a rich ***ch

what pains she knows

look at her style

her sharp ways

oh! my! my!

all you do then is to

sip a mouthful of coffee

and live it slow, real slow and smile.