Published May 1, 2022
by K. E. Peer
(Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
I don't want to be a knight in shining armour.
There's dignity in scars and old leather,
The badges of a long campaign.
We are wrinkled, yes, and sunburned,
Full of crows-feet and lines.
These are trophies, my friend.
Wear them with pride.
Our grey hairs emerged in our twenties.
Why? Because we fought!
We still fight the good fight.
Walk tall with your notches and your rust!
This grey is the grey of battle-steel,
The burnish of a well-used blade.
Your life is a tale worth telling, my friend.
Please, do not think you're not beautiful.
Biography
K. E. Peer is a street medic.
They use creative writing to process the difficult situations they often encounter in their line of work, because poetry has a knack for expressing things for which we don't have adequate words.
This poem is included in Poetry World #3, published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library.
Previously published in Canada Poetry Magazine:
January
by Jamien Shires
Canada Poetry Magazine is part of the Wax Poetry and Art Network.
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