Kinship excels
From the edge of her lips
A free, permeating wisp
So welcoming, warm and kind

Courage serves her
At every treacherous turn
Ahead of the world’s fiendish ills
She trudges proud
Assured and unfazed

She is the defiant display
A showcase of liberation
With many more fearlessly
Blossoming at her side

My reluctance gives way
And I unravel
Conceding to my own will
No matter how shrill or obscene

Bereft of skin
And the burden of care
I offer the purest gratitude
For my distant, tried-and-true friend