Layers

As you peel back one layer you will a bit more of me Each layer defines parts that the naked eye may not see The outer layer is tough resistant and seems weather proof Just one more layer down is where you start to find the truth. Peel off a third one and that’s where my feelings are hidden Not on the surface to be played with or abused when bidden Another layer down is where my tears are caught and held back. Until the hurt of death and squalor, that layer attack The last layer you may peel from me, I hold on to so tight I don’t want you to see my heart naked, in the harsh light. The layer that covers my heart and keeps it safe from abuse Life constantly picks at it and it’s not really much use. I tried so hard to keep that one in place and safe from harm Then life produces its peeler, which I would like to disarm. It endlessly peels away at the layers of my protection Leaving me vulnerable and weak and open to infection. To fight back at life I have found a small good cure all And that is what lets me walk on the edge, I totter but not fall. In times of trouble and death, pain, anger and even love Look for the silver lining that helps give this life a little shove. Shove these things aside; they will get dealt with in a while Knowing that whatever it is, will be behind us - so smile. The layer that keeps our minds strong and yes even clear Needs the most attention, it gives us hope, love, and even fear Good things and bad things all come and go day by day But we find we always look back on them and so we can say Another day passed though we never forget the pain Let me replace that layer now and cover my heart again A smile helps to build up the layers and keeps me on life’s path As does love, friendship and forgiveness, and a smile turns back wrath. When we feel we can never smile ever again in a thousand lifetimes We will look back and find the memory dims and the sun returns to shine My layers are there I try to build them and keep them supple and strong But sometimes they get ripped in a wrench and I think I am wrong Straight to the point where my heart beats and is exposed to life’s ills Time to pay the piper, as he comes to collect on life’s bills. Laughter the best medicine and that I truly believe But there’s a time to laugh and then there is a time to grieve Time to think and to fight, love and to perhaps even pray I hope my layers will keep intact, and get me through another tough day. © ~GG~ 25/12/2012 My son had to work today, he is a supervisor on a motorway service station. He came home to us at the end of his shift for any comfort we could give him because of a motor accident just past where he works that took the lives of two children and an adult and seriously injured two more. He had to get access for the emergency services and then deal with angry motorists as he had to block them trying to re-enter the motorway, while things were dealt with. His one thought was how the families would now cope, not only with the losses but that fact that it would taint their Christmas celebrations for the rest of their lives. Although we do not celebrate Christmas he is so concerned for their feelings he is finding it difficult to cope with. My heart grieves not only for them and their horrendous ordeal, but my son whose heart has been laid open to their pain.