On my shield

The keys
Need tuning
On the ragtime piano
Of my days
And sometimes
My voice
Cracks beneath
The weight of
My thoughts
But I’m on the
Same battlefield
As all of you
And even as the
Smallest has to
Pick up
The standard
And wave it
In invitation
Because we’re here
And the ugliness
Can’t stand your
Wounded beauty
Which is why it
Fights to spoil
But I touch
Your shoulder
Brother
Sister
Until the last of us falls
We’ll keep fighting
And my shield is yours
Until you have
To carry me home
On it